St. Rita High School’s AP Government Class Hosts Mock Presidential Election

Our senior AP Government class, led by Mr. Tom Conlon and Mr. Kieran Kellam ‘98, performed their third annual mock presidential election. The five-week project taught students how a presidential election works in the United States.

Candidates began by performing a Republican & Democratic Primary Debate. They were tasked with creating campaign ads for their candidates and interest groups. Our three fictional Republican candidates were Caleb Stone, played by Pat Conneely, Blake Hawthorne, played by Joe Katalinic, and Logan Prescott, played by Tom Healy. Our three fictional Democratic candidates were Thomas Callahan, played by James Kevin, Jon Morales, played by Ian Gustin, and Ethan Marshall, played by Tom Perry. Meanwhile, the rest of the class hosted the debate, serving as the media and interest groups.

After a great debate by both parties, Republican Blake Hawthorne (Joe Katalinic) and Democrat Thomas Callahan (James Kevin) won their primaries, advancing to the Presidential Debate. Republican Logan Prescott (Tom Healy) took an independent route, joining as a third-party candidate.

Throughout both debates, candidates discussed domestic and foreign topics, including inflation, immigration, gun violence, foreign policy, and student loans.

In a nail-biting finish, the election results came down to just three votes. Congratulations to Democrat Thomas Callahan (James Kevin) who became our new President of the United States.

In conclusion, this project not only taught students how an election works, but also cultivated critical skills such as public speaking and media production.