As the results of this year's Student Government elections were posted Wednesday night, the Russell House was abuzz with one question: Who is Kenneth Bragg?
The second-year economics student stepped foot in the SG Office for the first time Tuesday to write himself in for president, vice president, treasurer and senator of the College of Arts and Sciences.
He didn't think his vote would carry any weight. He was wrong.
In a tight treasurer race, Coy Gibson edged out Yousef Ibreak by one vote — 1,481 to 1,480 — to take first place and, presumably, the position.
But to win outright, Gibson needed 50 percent plus one vote, and the candidate earned just 50 percent, one vote shy of the victory.
That vote was Bragg's, who denied Gibson with just 0.034 percent of the vote.
"I was just going to do it, and only I was going to know — my friends or whoever I told. I thought it was funny," he said. "It was just one vote. I didn't think it would make any difference, but obviously, it did ... I couldn't believe I made an impact by writing my own name in."
That disbelief was evident Wednesday evening.
The candidate of sorts was nowhere to be found as the results were announced. Instead, he was back home reading Aldous Huxley's classic "Brave New World" for a class and sounded surprised when he was contacted by a reporter.
Immediately after the announcement, Gibson and Ibreak were just as shocked.
"We have a whole week to go," Gibson said. "I don't know who [Bragg] is ... We've got to get that 51 percent next week."
Ibreak, whose bid for the treasurer position was seemingly saved by Bragg's vote, was more grateful.
"Since he didn't make it into the runoff, I hope he supports me," Ibreak said. "The momentum is on our side of the court. I entered into the race as an underdog and relied on students outside of SG for their support. Everyone told me it was going to be close, but no one expected it was going to be one vote."
Bragg reciprocated that sentiment, joking that he might vote for Ibreak in the runoff election to try for a perfect 50-50 split.
But later Wednesday night, Bragg made his endorsement of Ibreak official.
"I have decided to endorse Yousef Ibreak," he wrote in a text message. "I believe his vision for the office and his drive toward innovation and transparency go more along the path of democratic values and will bring more awareness to the student body on issues concerning the way money is divided and spent in student organizations."
Bragg also said he had considered running for student senate in this election and he was still thinking about making his bid — perhaps for senate or for president — more official next year.
"I missed the deadline because I wasn't thinking about the elections," he said, adding that he decided to write in his name in after he missed the filing date. "I definitely plan on running next year."
