LEXINGTON, Va. – When the votes were counted Saturday evening, Senator Bernie Sanders was in first place with 405 more votes than runner up Joe Biden, who received 1,237 votes.
The votes, however, were not the necessary 1,991 to win the nomination, requiring a second round of voting.
Even then, Sanders’ victory was not unanimous.
The university predicted Virginia will actually nominate Joe Biden.
“That was decided by a combination of my research and the political team’s research,” said, Washington & Lee student Garrett Allen, the convention’s Virginia state chairman. “Virginia has a strong enough base with those more conservative democrats who liken Joe Biden to the Obama presidency.”
After the announcement of Sanders’ victory, a representative from sanders’ campaign spoke to the convention by phone.
“Coming off of the heels of one of the most important elections of our lives, we could not be more proud to accept this nomination," the representative said. “Our campaign has been working above and beyond to lower the barriers of entry to the political process to ensure more people are voting.”
Leading up to the votes, prominent speakers shared their thoughts on a variety of topics.
Host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show”, Trevor Noah, headlined the speakers.
He spoke about the importance of communication and getting young voters to vote.
Noah’s comments drew frequent applause from Washington and Lee students.
“Trevor Noah was able to bring the comedy aspect of his routine, but also some really deep issues with his upbringing in apartheid South Africa,” Washington & Lee junior Jack Fencl said.
“I don’t mind Donald Trump saying, ‘I hate the news because of the way they report on me.’ He has a right to say that. But when you say it’s fake news, you’re setting a dangerous president. You’re creating a world where everybody can engage with news and facts when and how they please," Noah said. "If we do not have shared facts, we do not have a society.”
Other speakers included Senator Joe Donnelly and Symone Sanders, who was Bernie Sanders’ national press secretary during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Fencl and fellow junior Valerie Marshall liked what they heard from them, too.
“I thought we had a really great lineup of speakers," Marshall said. “I think they did a really good job of providing diversity and experience and opinion and ideology.”
“It’s been a very good survey of all the types of people who would speak at an actual democratic convention, so I’ve been really thrilled,” Fencl said.