Lenzee Davis voted for the first time on Tuesday.

Davis said he voted because it’s the first chance for a black president in the United States.

Presidential primaries or caucuses were held in 24 states on Tuesday.

Sen. Hillary Clinton took a slight delegate lead on Sen. Barack Obama, but both candidates have pledged to continue the battle for the Democratic nomination.

Davis said he was concerned and shocked to see Clinton take the lead over Obama but said he had faith Obama will still prevail.

“He was endorsed by Oprah, so he’ll win because she’s ‘god,'” Davis said.

Sen. John McCain took a clear lead in the Republican race on Tuesday but still needs just less than half of the delegates required for the Republican nomination.

Emily Roche, a sophomore speech pathology major, said she thinks McCain will get the nomination. Roche was surprised that Clinton took the lead in Democratic delegates over Obama, even though she did not vote on Tuesday. Roche said she forgot to register on time to vote, but wishes she had.

Josh Boykin exercised his right to vote on Tuesday through use of an absentee ballot.

“You can’t really make a change unless you try to do something about it,” Boykin said.

Boykin said he wasn’t surprised to see the close Democratic race.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a clear-cut winner,” Boykin said.

Boykin, an English major, said the close race is a good chance to see who the candidates really are and how bad they want the position. He said the candidates now need to be on top of their game, especially in the Democratic race.

“We’re living in a time where a black man or white woman could become the next president,” Boykin said.

With so much emphasis on the number of voters this election, Boykin said he is excited to see so many people concerned with this election.

However, some students had no interest in the primaries that took place on Tuesday.

Chris Nutt, a sophomore English major, said he had no reaction to the election because no candidate caught his eye. Even though this is the first election he could vote in, he said he decided not to vote.

“I need to know where I’m going first before figuring out how a candidate could help me out,” Nutt said.

Keri Ritter, a junior psychology major, is one of the students who still don’t pay attention to the elections.

Ritter said she was busy doing homework all day and is just not interested in politics.

Still, Boykin stresses the importance of voting.

“Voting is the minimum you can do to have a say in the government,” Boykin said.

Sara Cuadrado can be reached at 581-7942 or at slcuadrado@eiu.edu.