Public relations junior J.D. Baker addresses the crowd at the #BlackOUt march on the South Oval Nov. 9. Baker was elected Student Government Association president Nov. 14.
J.D. Baker has been elected president of the Student Government Association.
"Wow, just wow," he said after learning of tonight's runoff election results.
Baker won the runoff between he and Ryan Echols with, unofficially, 52.26 percent of the vote. He will be sworn in as president most likely the week after Thanksgiving, said Abbey Taylor, the SGA Election Board chair.
Echols lost the runoff with 47.74 percent of the unofficial vote. 3,846 total votes were cast in this runoff election, Taylor said.
"I think there were a lot of outside factors that really influenced the outcome," Echols said. "Somebody was tearing down J.D.'s stuff, somebody was going around on iPads... I think those definitely influenced people that was outside of either of our control.
"If we validate the election and everything goes through, I wish him the best of luck. I hope he does well," he said.
Baker will succeed current SGA President Daniel Pae, while his running mate, Cameron Burleson, will succeed Michael Lutter as vice president.
“We're going to take steps to make sure that we bridge the gap between communities and really bring our university together," Baker said.
“I know that I will give all my work and all my time to make sure that our university is unified and that we’re growing stronger together,” he said.
Regan Stephenson and Bryce McElhaney contributed to this report.
