On Monday, Nov. 5, De Soto High School hosted a mock presidential election among the staff and students. The results were comparatively similar to the popular vote in Kansas during the real election the next day.

At DHS, Gov. Mitt Romney came out on top, winning nearly 56 percent of the vote, while President Barack Obama earned 39.1 percent. On Nov. 6, Kansas gave Romney 59.9 percent and Obama 37.9 percent.

The votes of DHS students and staff almost exactly represent the state vote.

“Romney was successful in Massachusetts at fixing the economy, and I thought his series of steps to better the country were pretty well thought-out,” sophomore and Romney voter Mitch Gehrt said.

Students and teachers alike had similar reasons for supporting Romney.

“The economy is top on my priority list right now, and the job situation, and in the last four years I feel like we have been plummeting, instead of trying to even plateau, or climb back up. I feel like there’s been no plan at all,” English teacher Donna Rhodes said.

“I feel like his experiences with the Olympics, business world and with climbing up the ladder himself, he would have some down-to-earth resolutions and problem-solving skills.”

On the other hand, almost 40 percent of the DHS population voted in favor of the Nov. 6 election winner, President Obama.

“I voted for Obama because I share the same views as him on abortion, gay marriage and health care,” said sophomore and Obama voter Alex Louis.

“In his next term, I feel like he will try to fix the deficit while looking out for the well-being of America.”

The vote for President Obama gained support from teachers as well.

“The most important issue to me, as a voter, is education and I feel like we are moving in the right direction with providing assistant for students, whether it be gaining access to student loans or continuing Pell Grant programs, things of that nature,” social studies teacher Mike Murphy said.

Although the DHS and Kansas election winner came out as Romney, the country as a whole voted to re-elect Obama for a second term. The nation’s popular vote was 50.3 percent in favor of President Obama and 48.1 percent went to Gov. Romney.