By ANTHONY JOHNSON and REED ARGIROPOULOS

“We are the Federalist Party.”

These were the words spoken last night by Heyna Chung (0196) in his opening speech after winning the election for Federalist party chair on Sunday. Chung won a landslide victory in the third round of voting. Chung, a member of Kogutek County, was able to gain overwhelming support from Roosevelt, Pedro, Wong, and McKneally counties with his enthusiastic and rallying speeches.

Other elections that happened during the night were the Vice Chairman, where Chairman Chung appointed his runner-up.

Parker Woods (0298) gained 57 votes in the original Chairman elections which was the second highest total. This led to Chung deciding to elect him as his Vice Chairman at the end of the night.

There were also the Clerk and Secretary positions that were selected, Jorge Garcia (0064) from Roosevelt County and John Timpanaro (0236) from Fish county were chosen.

Chung amassed 155 votes in the final round of voting to gain the victory last night. In his speeches he spoke about his prior experience in a leading role. He spoke on how he is the student body president at his school and how he is the voice for 1200 students. He also spoke on how the federalists are one party no matter how different we are.

When interviewed after his victory he was asked how he would accomplish his promise to win every election. He responded by speaking on how he wants to coordinate properly with the candidates. “Unite behind one cohesive message,” he said.

“I’m going to release a google form within the Boys’ State group chat,” he added. Chung talked about how he wants to get feedback and suggestions from everyone in the party. He wants everyone to be heard. He’s also looking for anyone that has ideas to get that google form to every federalist at Boys’ State.

Chung, who is part of the Boys’ State city of Kearsing, and is originally from Vestal, New York, was one of the loudest voices last night and was able to gain a lot of traction. His diction and the way he carried himself propelled him to the top of the ballot. He made a massive impression on the party and he hopes to strive to be the best party chair in Boys’ State history.

In an Instagram post posted Sunday, Chung detailed his plans to pursue further office and become the Lieutenant Governor. The Instagram post was made before he was even elected as party chair. In the post he details his main goals in that election are to Protect Constitutional Freedoms, end unwarranted surveillance and restore trust and transparency. These are the three major goals that he wants to accomplish if he can win Lieutenant Governor.

Woods hails from Rye, New York, and spoke from his heart about the importance of unity in the Federalist Party. He emphasized the need for trust in the democratic process and his role in serving citizens as a leader. On stage, Woods appeared comparatively cool and collected, a behavior he attributed to his philosophy of professional leadership.

In an exclusive interview after his election, Woods expounded on the idea of leadership, explaining that he appreciates the feedback of his constituents and his political adversaries to attain the best outcome for citizens. “We need to come together as a bipartisan thinking community and vote for the best person,” Woods said. 

As Vice Party Chair, Woods plans to hit the ground running with close collaboration with Party Chair Chung. He is very thankful for the opportunity to work with all the electees, and anticipates a strong platform forming in the coming days. 

Beyond yesterday’s elections, Woods has plans to run for Governor. His goals are best told in his own words: “get to the people, push my story so people can hear me, and judge me how they will.”

The first day of federalist Conventions was ultimately a successful night as the people of the party will look forward to the further votes on Monday.