Getting back to the basics worked for Nick Stathes and Pat Daley -- the newly elected Undergraduate Student Government (USG) president and vice president.

After months of USG controversies and confusion, Stathes (junior-political science and economics) and Daley (sophomore-English) won the responsibility of restoring the organization back to its full potential.

"We stuck to our plan and executed correctly," a sleep-deprived Stathes said after thanking each of the campaign teams.

About 50 of the 60 students attending the announcement of the election results jumped from their seats as head elections commissioner David Gelpi declared Stathes and Daley the winners.

"It's great to get the vote," Daley said. "But it means nothing until we have proved that we earned it."

Stathes and Daley received 2,323 of the 3,420 valid votes.

Traditional techniques such as thousands of fliers, yellow T-shirts and "polite conversation" succeeded in raking in their votes.

Brendan Magee (junior-English), a campaigner for Stathes and Daley, said he spent yesterday campaigning for the "easy vote" and hoped that it helped persuade students to vote -- for Nick and Pat.

All of the candidates, as well as their supporters, made yesterday's campaigning a priority.

Daniel Ward (sophomore-public relations), vice presidential candidate, said he did not attend any of his Wednesday classes to advocate his platforms.

The Stathes and Daley campaign was evident throughout campus, particularly in the East Halls residence area.

Stathes said he chose to focus on that area for the freshman factor.

He said spending the majority of his time with the freshmen was one of the most beneficial decisions in his campaign because the underclassmen had not been exposed to the negativity of USG.

"I think [Stathes and Daley] have a relatively strong campaign," Jeremiah Serfas (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said.

Serfas, along with Mike Lampariello (freshman-landscape architecture), spent time talking to Stathes about the election, and they said they have been considering future involvement in USG.

Each of the presidential parties repeatedly publicized their similar goals and the fact that all of the candidates were qualified for the demanding position.

Kevin and Daniel Ward, hometown heroes from State College, maintained a campaign revolving around their family and their local reputation. They received 28.7 percent of the votes.

"Nick and Pat were good candidates, and we wish them the best of luck running USG next year," Kevin Ward said.

Stathes and Daley will replace current USG executives Galen Foulke and Luke Adams.

During their two terms, Foulke and Adams initiated the proposal for the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) -- an organization that could possibly replace USG as the recognized student representation.