The College Republicans at Purdue are starting to plug into the 2016 race.

The Purdue Review reports.

Student Republicans speak out

A quick poll on candidate loyalty by show of hand at the Feb. 25th Purdue College Republicans meeting revealed that support was split between three top contenders for the GOP primary. Several hands went up showing support for Rubio. A handful shot up for Cruz. And one proud hand at the meeting was raised high in support of GOP frontrunner and business mogul Donald Trump.

Purdue University’s College Republicans do not officially support any individual candidate as an organization, but one might find a surprising amount of conflicting opinions within the club’s ranks.

Alex Merrick, a freshman in industrial Engineering, was the sole Trump supporter at the meeting. Merrick said that Trump’s biggest strength is his ability to get the candidates talking about issues by speaking his mind first.

“Donald Trump is sort of leading the conversation,” Merrick said. “He knows how to take chances, even if some of his chances have failed, a lot of them have succeeded though. If you want to be a good president, you have to take chances.”

Merrick claimed that Trump has a natural advantage being a business tycoon, both from his knowledge of the economy and from his unflinching attitude when facing opponents.

“[Trump] is extremely competent in what he speaks. He’s not afraid of anyone. I believe that he will lead America over other countries and show American ideals. He won’t bow down to what other countries think.”

Spencer Schriner, a freshman in CNIT and a member of Purdue College Republicans, brashly disagreed with Merrick’s endorsement of Donald Trump. Schriner is a supporter of Republican candidate Ted Cruz, claiming that he is by far the most constitutional contender for the office.