The Nevada Sagebrush

Barack Obama’s 200 versus Hillary Clinton’s 26.Ron Paul’s 62 versus Rudy Giuliani’s zero.

These numbers, representing members of official University of Nevada, Reno student clubs, fall out of line with national polls, where Clinton is ahead of Obama by nearly 20 percent and Giuliani is ahead of Mike Huckabee by about 8 percent.

Club organizers said candidate diversity is also a reason students are attracted to the nonleading candidates.

Young Democrats president Rachel Miller said Obama draws students because he is a  politically and racially diverse candidate.  She said she has met people who said they would not support Democratic candidate John Edwards because he is the typical presidential candidate – wealthy and white.

UNR political science professor Eric Herzik said Clinton is a diverse candidate too, but her ties to previous administration dismay students from supporting her.

Students tend to distrust Washington, D.C., and are looking for a completely new face, Herzik said.

In Obama’s case, his lack of political experience compared to the other candidates is actually helping him gain support, he said.

While Paul might not be racially diverse, he is taking a new angle on campaigning that attracts a younger generation, said Bryan Bedera, Republican Youth Majority state chairman.

Paul tends to attract a younger audience in his campaign because of his strong Internet use, Bedera said.

Paul has raised the most amount of money online than any other candidate, according to a press release from the Ron Paul campaign. As of Nov. 5, Paul raised $4 million online.

When he came to campus Nov. 20, Paul said there is a relation between his support from college students and Internet support.

He said he networked through Facebook and MySpace.

Paul has such large support from students and his success relies on them, Bedera said.

“His success is hinging on whether the students come out to the polls,”Bedera said.

Herzik said students are also attracted to Paul because he is against big government and the government is not very popular among college students right now.

“Ron Paul is a completely different type of candidate and that is both his strength and is weakness,”Herzik said.

Unlike Paul, Giuliani has a very traditional way of campaigning, Bedera said. Guiliani is not focusing on students because students historically have low voting turnouts, said Giuliani spokesman Jarrod Agen.

Students are not likely to vote for Giuliani because they believe he resembles the Bush administration, an administration the majority of students are trying to break from, Bedera said.

Spokespeople for the top candidates, each saying their candidate has the highest support in Iowa, said students are likely to support the candidates who represent change. Several students said the issue they most want to see change in is the war in Iraq, an issue each candidate takes a slightly different stance on.

“The headlines are the same, but the details are different,”Herzik said.

Obama calls for a steady withdrawal of troops.  This attracts students who want a practical solution to end the war, said Maryssa Falk, president of Students for Barack Obama.

Paul’s plan is to not only withdraw all troops in Iraq immediately if he is elected, but also to withdraw troops from other countries like Afghanistan and South Korea.

Jeff Frazee, national youth coordinator for Ron Paul’s campaign, said students against the war are drawn to Paul because he would end the war in Iraq sooner than his competitors. He would also end military conflicts in other countries.

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