After Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s victory in the college straw poll, the political groups on campus are getting more involved in the national election – other students are not.

Romney came in with almost 50 percent of the votes at the Florida Federation of College Republicans’ (FFCR) Spring Quarterly Meeting. FAU sent two students to Tallahassee to vote in the college straw poll on Jan. 29. FAU College Republicans’ vice president, Jon Taylor and FAUCR member Eliezer Olea, went to represent the school in Tallahassee. Meanwhile, FAU College Democrats are focusing on getting students to vote by spreading the word to register, but many students don’t even know who’s running in the election, according to FAUCD member, Chris Lazare.

FAU could bring as many people as they wanted to the state wide meeting, but only two could vote in the poll. Taylor voted as the FFCR treasurer. “I went because as the treasurer of the state it is important that I go,” he said. “And I brought Eliezer Olea because I think it’s important for FAU to be represented state wide.”

Taylor mentioned he voted for Romney for multiple reasons. “Jobs, jobs, jobs! And the other candidates do not have the professional experience,” Taylor said. “He majored in finance which shows he knows economics and business on a deep level.”

FAUCD president, Boris Bastidas disagreed. “The more candidates the easier it is for Romney to win,” Bastidas said. “But there are still a lot of people undecided, and I think that the Republican party has pushed more to the right, now that Obama has become president.”

Other College Republican chapters like Eckerd, UCF, UF, USF, UWF and UM also attended the meeting. Olea said, “A lot of schools were there from Florida, if we are part of the federation it is good for someone to represent FAU at these type of events”.

Even though the FFCR has grown from 30 members to 300 members within one year, the Republican party still isn’t very popular on college campuses, according to Taylor. Bastidas said the vast majority of students are Democrats. “For every 10 students 5 or 6 are on the more liberal democratic side.”

Bastidas and other FAUCD members have been going to clubs and registering voters on campus, but they are more focused on setting up tables in the breezeway on Wednesdays. Bastidas does not make a big deal about Republicans registering to vote. He said, “It’s part of the process, and I strongly encourage students to vote no matter which party they will be voting for.”

Romney’s win however, didn’t seem to influence FAU students, according to FAUCD member, Chris Lazare. “Most students being asked to register to vote don’t even have a clue who is running,” he said.

As the Presidential election creeps closer, FAU political clubs encourage students to vote, but would like for students to research both sides of each party before deciding. “The kids who pay attention to politics might actually care, so as far as not caring, I think they don’t care because they don’t know,” Lazarre said.

When it comes down to who wins in November, Taylor believes the Republicans’ main goal is to win back the white house, while FFCR’s main goal is making sure colleges get as much republican representation as possible. “If it is Romney, if it’s Ron Paul, if its Albert the Muppet, we are going to vote for him, anybody but Obama.”