With the state’s primaries just wrapped up, The Prowler set out to find which presidential candidates North’s students supported, and just as importantly stood against, in a mock election.

Of the two presumptive presidential nominees, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came out just ahead of Television Superstar Donald Trump by a margin of 50% to 43.8%, respectively. Notably, 6.2% of those surveyed wrote in that they would vote for neither candidate in the general election.

“This presidential election is like choosing an STD to live with for the next four years,” said Senior Jake McGee.

Surveys were given to students during social science classes regarding their opinions about the leading presidential candidates.

The two leading candidates, however, were widely loathed by the student body; 54.9% listed Trump as their most hated candidate, with another 36.3% giving Clinton the same dubious honor.

In a year of the political outsider, each candidate has given voters plenty of reasons for disdain. Trump has repeatedly offended minority groups, flip-flopped his stances, and proposed the potentially outlandish idea of building a border wall with Mexico. Democratic-Socialist Bernie Sanders can come across as a single issue candidate with his constant shots at Wall Street and has ideas, such as free public college, that many perceive to be unrealistic.

“Everything Trump says is right,” said Senior Frank Klatt. “Build a wall, man.”

There is a massive disparity between the candidates students would choose in a general election, provided the current voting trends hold, and their favorites of those remaining, particularly on the Democratic side. Sanders was the candidate of choice among North’s students, with 48.2% describing him as their first choice. While Clinton has a massive lead in the delegate race, she does not have the support of Sanders at North, as she is the preferred candidate of just 2.6%.

The very students that choose Clinton over Trump in the general election strongly rejected her when compared to the entire election pool. In fact, there were more students who supported Republican John Kasich as their favorite candidate than for Clinton among those who picked her in the general election.

“John Kasich is such a good egg,” said Senior Sarah Hass.

On the Republican side, Trump was the favored candidate of 24.6% of all students, with Kasich at 15.8%, and Ted Cruz at just 7.9%.

It’s not surprising that Sanders would poll so highly at North. Sanders’ policies, as The Prowler wrote in a previous issue, appeal to younger voters, who tend to be more liberal.

At North, unsurprisingly, more students tended be more liberal, with 43% describing themselves as Democrats as compared to 36% as Republicans. A surprising 21% identified as independents.

Of those independents, Sanders was the candidate of choice, with Trump as a close second. Clinton finished last of all candidates. The vote of independents can have massive importance on the outcome of the general election, as candidates rely on swinging undecided voters to tip the scales.

Political apathy was nowhere to be found in this process. Of students that were eligible to vote in the primaries, 55.8% of students said that they voted. The National Average, according to Census date, was at just 38% participation for ages 18-24.