Incumbent Associated Students of the University of Arizona Administrative Vice President Katie Kelliher was elected student body president for the 2026-2027 school year, defeating her opponent Bhavya Makkar with 1,424 votes, a total of 59% of the vote. Makkar received 925 votes.

A junior majoring in business management, Kelliher emphasized consistent advocacy for the needs of students as her primary goal in her campaign. She also emphasized her previous experience in ASUA as a senator at-large in addition to administrative vice president. 

Kelliher said that she hopes to establish a regular event that students would be able to remember and know the time and place of, which herself and other ASUA leaders would be able to hold to provide a chance for students to come and bring forward with their concerns for student government.

She has said that her previous experience in student government involved fostering conversations and collecting a diversity of perspectives among student groups and ASUA clubs, and that it is her belief that the student advocacy she prioritized will require consistent attention over a period of time.

Kelliher will be charged with several duties in her term, including appointing a cabinet and supreme court members, creating and executing student legislation and a budget and attending Arizona Board of Regents meetings.

In an electoral rarity, 17 out of the remaining 18 elected candidates in this year’s elections running for all other positions ran unopposed, the one contested election being senator for the College of Social and Behavioral Science. Voter turnout was lower than it was in the 2025 election, but the presidential election was also somewhat more competitive.

Molecular and cellular biology student Aparna Chandrasekar was elected executive vice president, the presiding officer for the ASUA senate. During her term, Chandrasekar will also act as the primary liaison between ASUA clubs and government and oversee major ASUA club initiatives, as well as fill in for the president in their absence.

Chandrasekar outlined student concerns about safety, financial struggles and “a startling lack of transparency between administration and students” as the three most important topics she hoped to handle during her term. 

Public affairs and criminal justice student Kennedy Jennings was elected administrative vice president, including responsibilities like holding regular meetings with ASUA clubs and other organizations, as well as overseeing the ASUA Impact Series of community projects and workshops.

Jennings previously served as the events coordinator for ASUA, a cabinet-level post, and emphasized her passion for public service and the importance of honesty, integrity and transparency in university leadership.

The following 16 candidates were elected to represent their respective colleges as senators:

• Incumbent At-Large Senator Katelyn Alvarado was reelected. 
• Computer science and artificial intelligence student Harsh Patel was elected one of the at-large senators. 
• Pharmaceutical science student Arpit Sohi was elected one of the at-large senators. 
• Architecture student Diego del Villar was elected senator for the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture. 
• Incumbent College of Agriculture and Life Science Senator Victoria Gallardo was reelected. 
• Early childhood education student Raya Jefferson was elected senator for the College of Education. 
• Intelligence and information operations and criminal justice student Nya Fludzinski was elected senator for the College of Engineering.
• Incumbent College of Fine Arts Senator Joclyn Flynn was reelected.
• Incumbent College of Medicine Senator Alexander Galarza was reelected. 
• Psychology student Tony Ruggerello was elected senator for the College of Science. 
• Public health student Savannah Alvarez was elected senator for the Nel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. 
• Pharmaceutical sciences student Reese Wick was elected senator for the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy. 
• Management information systems student Olivia Sobczak was elected senator for the Eller College of Management. 
• Linguistic anthropology and East Asian studies student Meagan Rausch was elected senator for the College of Humanities. 
• Law student Ariane Kometa was elected senator for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, defeating public affairs student Makenna Trevers with a vote of 232 to 134
• Cyber-operations student Darryn “DJ” Ouk was elected senator for the College of Information Science. 

The positions for senators of the College of Nursing, Wyant Optical Science College and W.A. Franke Honors College lacked a candidate running for the position. Prior to the end of the year, ASUA will undergo their vacancy procedure in which they will hold an interview and hiring process for these three colleges in order to see the positions filled.

Follow the Daily Wildcat on Instagram and Twitter/X