You’d have to have been living under a virtual rock to have missed the story of Reggie the Corgi running for President in the University of Michigan SGA elections.

Unofficial campus mascot, therapy dog, and overall good boy, Reggie ran as a write-in candidate until eventually encouraging students to vote for a real “human candidate.” Having reviewed his platform (okay, they were just his pictures), I’m pretty confident that Reggie has all the leadership skills necessary to be a fantastic President.

Having said that, I am low-key glad that he used his notoriety to increase voter turnout for the human candidates.

Seeing this story got the team at Presence HQ wondering about other “fluffy” candidates. I mean, let’s face it — who doesn’t spend their time thinking about animals 99% of the time?

Animals who did surprisingly well in SGA Elections

North Dakota State University actually elected a cat named Professor X to their University Senate. This is a real story of rags-to-riches as Professor X was roaming the streets until a sophomore student adopted him.

And unlike recent general elections, proof of official birth certificate was not a prominent issue during the election process. That being said, Prof. X never actually sat on the Senate in an official capacity – although we have been told by official sources that he did enjoy sitting on other things like paper bags, open laptops, and warm window sills.

Meanwhile, across the pond in Scotland, students at the University of Aberdeen are attempting to elect “Buttons” for University Rector (The equivalent of a Chancellor).

This time, the candidate is running as a protest to current management using the slogan “cats not bureaucrats.” According to The Independent (the UK newspaper which originally ran this story), the school has many campus cats who could have been chosen for the position, but Buttons was selected because he is the most fluffy and most friendly.

Coincidentally, those are also the two superlatives I received while in high school.

Animal candidates aren’t just a Millenial thing

It’s true — animal candidates are one of the few industries millennials aren’t destroying. In 1981, Wimpy the Gerbil very almost, but not quite, became President of Penn State.

The controversial rat race (sigh) resulted in 25% of student votes for Wimpy and his running mate, Frederick Schiller defeating 3 other candidates. Despite this tragic defeat, Wimpy went on to write a best-selling novel What Went Wrong and did speaking engagements across the United States.

Okay, we may have actually made that last part up. He did have a pleasant life living in a campus hall until he passed away one year later.

You don’t need an animal candidate to be successful in SGA elections

Despite their oh-so-very-cute election appeal, animals aren’t the only way to run a successful SGA election campaign. You can also use many, many animal puns for your campaign theme. We’ve pulled some of the best examples into this Pinterest board:

Vote in our own Presence Pup SGA Election

We couldn’t help but wonder which of our office pups would make a good President. Take a look at our candidates and cast your vote using the form below.

Candidate 1: Basil

A self-confessed lover of people’s ears, Basil is a quietly energetic leader. Basil has a ton of tricks up her sleeve and is particularly crafty!

Candidate 2: Carob

A champion of hugs, Carob is a pup of the people. He is campaigning for mandatory nap time and to make smiling the new power pose.

Candidate 3: Lucy and Pippa

Running as Co-Presidents, Lucy and Pippa are two sisters who get stuff done! When not running for office, they can be found practicing their yodeling skills.

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Do you have a story to share of a fluffy SGA candidate? Hit us up on Twitter @hellopresence