Class of 2020 members campaign for school president

>> and as their parents get ready to vote in today's election two of our students have been running their own campaigns for fifth grade student council president, and they are just finding out how tough politics can be at any level.

>> obviously the president needs to be a school leader it's less than a month before student council elections and the candidates are learning what it takes to run for office.

>> you will stand up and give a speech as to why you want to run for president.

>> for fifth graders like caroline it's the last chance to be president in elementary school .

>> give me the markers.

>> every good campaign needs a good poster, and caroline 's is straightforward. as she puts the finishing touches on her speech, caroline starts to find her voice as a candidate.

>> what are you going to promise?

>> i don't know.

>> are you going to promise anything?

>> i don't want to promise anything.

>> that's probably smart.

>> because then if it doesn't happen.

>> i'm nervous because i want to know who wins, but i'm excited because it's a fun process.

>> just a few blocks away caroline 's classmate and a good friend is preparing her own speech.

>> hello, my name is ruby, and i'm running for your school president .

>> ruby is branding herself as the truth candidate.

>> i think you have to make a distinction and say instead of making promises i'm going to give you my ideas.

>> and her poster is as colorful as her personality. for ruby making posters is the easy part. the hard part is running for president against one of her best friends .

>> i don't want to lose friendships with caroline because i love caroline .

>> ruby and caroline have been good friends since kindergarten.

>> we promised each other we wouldn't get mad at each other if one of us won.

>> on the day before the election, 300 students filled the auditorium to heart candidates make their pitch. a fifth grader named tyler kicked off the presidential candidate speeches with a bang.

>> make some noise. if you want more sports tournaments.

>> yeah!

>> in her speech caroline stresses her accomplishments.

>> i favor recycling and did student council last year as class representative .

>> and then it's ruby's turn.

>> you'll hear a lot of candidates make promises that they won't keep, but i'm not making any promises. no promises. but i do have some great ideas.

>> all that is left now is the voting and the counting of the ballots.

>> very close between two candidates for president at this point.

>> at the end of the day the candidates gather in the library to learn the results.

>> i see that a lot of you are nervous, so i just want everybody to take a deep breath and relax your bodies.

>> after a few minutes of anxiety and anticipation the principal announces the results to the school.

>> please excuse the interruption. the results from student council election are in. president tyler gannet.

>> caroline is speechless and ruby has to be consoled by her friends.

>> are you okay?

>> i'm fine.

>> after school caroline and ruby comfort each other while the new president gets a big hug from his dad. ruby thinks she knows the secret to tyler's success.

>> he got the whole entire third grade to vote for him.

>> turns out a ground game is important, even in elementary school elections. a valuable lesson for the girls' next attempt at politics.

>> maybe just walk around campus a little more.

>> yeah.

>> maybe just like get to know people more.

>> all about that ground game. well, caroline and ruby say they feel good about how they ran their campaigns, and most important they maintained their friendship throughout the process and for more on the class of 2020 visit our website, today.com.

>> those are great kids.

>> fantastic.

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