By LINDSAY VanHULLE
LELAND -- Fewer than 30 minutes to go until the campaign rally, and the television wouldn't play a DVD disc.
Hundreds of students from as many as 10 other schools already were filtering into the Leland Public School gym, awaiting the start of a biennial mock election, and Jermiah Wakeman had to deal with last-minute technical problems.
But if there were any glitches once Thursday's rally began, they went unnoticed.
"It seems like over the last two months, everything went really quick," said Jermiah, 16, a Leland junior who worked to run spotlights and produce video for the event. "Seeing it all pulled together is really great."
He and other students in teacher Ed Wodek's government classes spent recent weeks creating advertisements, contacting candidates and decorating the school in red, white and blue.
Leland students introduced candidates for four state and national races. Speeches had to be persuasive without resorting to negative campaign tactics. The goal, after all, was to get them elected.
Republican Ray Franz and Democrat Dan Scripps, both running for the state House 101st District, were present, as was Democratic U.S. Congress candidate Andrew Concannon and Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Jack Hoogendyk.
The latter tried to appeal to the young crowd by telling them, "Though I am over 50, I do have a Facebook account. So look me up."
Congressman Dave Camp, a Republican, Democratic U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama had representatives present. Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain did not.
In the mock vote, Obama beat McCain 101 to 39, Hoogendyk bested Levin 79-63, Concannon topped Camp 72-70 and Scripps defeated Franz 124 to 21.
As they arrived, students from other schools, including Northport, Suttons Bay and Traverse City, picked up campaign stickers and signs. They waved them wildly when their candidates were introduced.
"It prepares us for what we're going to do in the next four years," said Jake Rychen, 17, a senior at Interlochen Arts Academy. "It shows you don't have to be 18 to be active in an election."
Students at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Middle School in Traverse City had to take note of each candidate's platform, eighth-grade history teacher Rob Welch said. They will discuss the event in class afterward.
"It kind of helps us prepare for when we are old enough to vote," said Ellen Winkler, 13, a St. Elizabeth eighth-grader. "We know what to look for in a candidate."
By the numbers
Hundreds of students from as many as 10 visiting schools attended a campaign rally Thursday at Leland Public School. Among them were Suttons Bay, Northport, Traverse City, Interlochen Arts Academy, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Middle School and Lake Leelanau St. Mary School.
A portion of the students who attended also cast votes in a mock election. Democrats and those candidates who attended generally attracted the most votes.
The results are:
President
Barack Obama (D) -- 101
John McCain (R) -- 39
U.S. Senate
Jack Hoogendyk (R) -- 79
Carl Levin (D) -- 63
U.S. Congress, 4th District
Andrew Concannon (D) -- 72
Dave Camp (R) -- 70
State House, 101st District
Dan Scripps (D) -- 124
Ray Franz (R) -- 21
