Katy McGarry and Nick Webber were declared the next student body president and vice president after votes were counted last night in a contested election against Nathan Altmann and Justin Vue.

The winning ticket won with an additional 371 votes, making them the executive duo that will front UW-Eau Claire’s student senate in the 61st Session.

McGarry and Webber received 1,651 votes, while Altmann and Vue received only 1,280 votes.

Expressing how humbled she was by the campaign experience, McGarry said she was happy with the voter turnout this year compared to last year’s Senate election where she campaigned for the vice presidency position alongside former Vice President Jordan Mabin. This year, 2,959 students voted in the election, compared to last year’s turnout of 2,663 students.

Both McGarry and Webber said they will be working hard to implement the bikeshare program that’s in the works by this fall. Webber said he remains committed to continuing advocacy for off-campus housing.

“We’re really gonna start hitting the ground running,” McGarry said. “It’s a budget year so we gotta make sure we’re advocating for the students. Until that July 1 budget date it’s gonna be super, super important that we make sure that the UW System is getting funded. We have a bikeshare program in the works that we want to implement in the fall. Construction is happening all over campus. So we’re ready to get rolling as soon as we can and start the transition process.”

Out of the 20 off-campus students who campaigned for a senator position under the McGarry and Webber ticket, 11 of them were voted in last night. Of their on-campus candidates, three of the five students received seats.

Under Altmann and Vue’s ticket, all seven of their on-campus senator candidates won seats. As for off-campus candidates on their ticket, eight of the 19 students were voted in.