To welcome back the annual Election Simulation tradition, students representing this year’s politicians and interest groups gathered in the courtyard on September 28 during seventh band to participate in the Kickoff Rally. All politicians and groups aimed to introduce their campaigns and slogans at the rally and are now free to go out into the wider school and start fighting for votes. 

Senior Jaabir Rabbani said, “I’m very excited for this upcoming election season. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but my team and I are ready to win the votes of the students this upcoming season.” Jaabir is representing Gregory Meeks, a candidate for the US House Representative for New York’s 5ᵗʰ Congressional District. 

Senior Aissatou Lam, who is representing Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Adams, said, “My main plan is to interact with the student body through the radio show, TV show, or directly in the hallway so they can put a name to a face. Additionally, I plan on using my social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok to educate Townsend students on what policies I support, and how a campaign in Georgia still affects them.”

This year, Townsend Harris candidates are running for positions in the House Representatives, US State Senators, Attorney Generals, and others in New York. Unlike past years, the simulation will include a series of races from states like Florida, Georgia, and Pennsylvania that have garnered national attention.

In addition to these positions, seniors at the rally also represented special interest groups such as Planned Parenthood, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), and the CATO Institute. 

Last week, The Classic published a slideshow of pictures from the rally here. 

The following candidates are in this year’s Election Simulation:

• US Senator for New York: Joe Pinon (R) v. Chuck Schumer (D)
• US Congressional District 5 for NY: Paul King (R) v. Gregory Meeks (D)
• US Congressional District 7 for NY: Juan Pagan (R) v. Nydia Velazquez (D)
• US Congressional District 11 for NY: Nicole Malliotakis (R) v. Max Rose (D)
• US Congressional District 14 for NY: Tina Forte (R) v. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D)
• New York Governor: Lee Zeldin (R) v. Kathy Hochul (D)
• New York Attorney General: Michael Henry (R) v. Letitia James (D)
• New York Comptroller: Paul Rodriguez (R) v. Thomas DiNapoli (D)
• New York State Senate District 7: Jack Martins (R) v. Anna Kaplan (D)
• Queens Civil Court Judge William Shanahan (R / C) v. Karen Lin (D)
• Florida Governor: Ron DeSantis (R) v. Charlie Crist (D)
• Georgia Governor: Brian Kemp (R) v. Stacey Abrams (D)
• Pennsylvania Senator: Mehmet Oz (R) v. John Fetterman (D)

Photo by Erica Lee