OGDEN — Two Manti High School juniors, Braxton Jensen and Tate Wyman were elected governor and lieutenant governor at American Legion Boys State, which was held June 12-17 at Weber State University.
The Boys State program is designed to develop leadership and promote civic responsibiltiy in young men. Boys learn how the government works and about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
Boys State attracted 149 boys from all over Utah. Boys attending could sign up, in essence, “file,” for governor, senator and other offices. The candidates could run in the “Nationalist” or “Federalist” parties.
Each candidate for governor had to have a lieutenant-governor running mate. So Braxton and Tate teamed up. Caucuses were held to narrow down the number of pairs in each party.
Ultimately, eight pairs of boys, four in each party, ran in a primary election. Prior to the primary election, “we were able to campaign and put up posters to help us run for office,” Tate said. The primary narrowed the field to one pair of running mares for governor and lieutenant governor in each of the two parties.
Then all the candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, senator and all other major offices were called up on stage. Their fellow students asked questions designed to test the candidates’ knowledge of government.
The next morning, the Boys State delegates voted, and the Manti High students were announced as the governor and lieutenant governor winners. Because they were elected to the positions, they will return next year to help run Boys State.
Tate is the son of David and Coralee Wayman, while Braxton is the son of Bryson and Haden Jensen. Both families live in Ephraim.
