For a number of Tufts students who had put time into helping former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign over the past few months, Feb. 7 marked a sad day.
The hopes of several students were dashed yesterday when Romney dropped out.
"I was heartbroken," said senior Alex Pryor, who worked for Romney since his days as governor.
"It was definitely disappointing," added sophomore Kevin Terhorst, who interned with Romney last summer. "Having dedicated a lot of your summer ... it's really disappointing when what you've worked for is kind of lost."
Junior Dan Hartman, the president of the Tufts Republicans, also interned with the campaign. He volunteered last semester in the communications department, devoting about 15 hours a week to the campaign.
"I think that Romney was a great candidate," Hartman said. "He's the only candidate who had the experience that I know of that could change Washington. He had the experience in business, he had it [as the CEO of the 2002] Olympics, and he ran a state."
If the Tufts contingency is any indicator, Romney's supporters show a split when deciding whom to back for the presidency after Romney's withdrawal.
Hartman will support Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who seems locked in as the Republican nominee. "I think that the Republican Party is unified," he said.
But Pryor, the Tufts Community Union Senate historian, said that she would have a hard time reconciling Romney's and McCain's campaign-trail tiffs. "It's really a hard question," she said. "I think the right answer would be, 'I'll just support the Republican candidate,' but the truth is McCain has just been so negative [toward Romney]. I'll have to think about it."
Terhorst, a registered independent and member of both the Tufts Democrats and the Tufts Republicans, is unsure whether he will support McCain. "I agree on some of his issues and disagree on some of his others."
