With the Iowa Caucuses upon us and Mock Convention fast approaching, The Spectator decided to send out an electronic survey to W&L undergraduates last week in order to gauge which presidential candidates have earned the support of the student body. We conducted the poll from Thursday, January 28 to Sunday, January 31, sending an email with the survey link to 1904 students. Of the 400 students who responded, 48% stated that they tended to identify with the Republican Party, 26% with the Democratic Party, and 26% independent.

Those who chose Republican were directed to a page listing all the Republican candidates and asked for their top pick. Marco Rubio dominated the field, taking 42.5% of the vote, while other top contenders Donald Trump and Ted Cruz took 12.9% and 13.4% respectively.

On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders more than doubled favorite Hillary Clinton's total, taking 66% of the vote to her 31.1%. Martin O'Malley gained 2.9%, outpacing his national average.

Among independents, Bernie and Rubio again polled well, taking 30.3% and 19.1% respectively. John Kasich also had a strong showing among this group, finishing third with 16.9% of the vote.

While the makeup of the student body is certainly not representative of the nation as a whole, this poll nonetheless offers some interesting insight into millennial voting patterns in Lexington. We want to offer our thanks to all who participated in our poll, and we look forward to seeing how our results compare to the actual race.