Junior Matt Avena of Middletown is representing Constitutional Party candidate Darrell Castle in the mock election, and today he held his first political rally of the mock election.

In an attempt to gather viewers for this event, Avena used a megaphone to make an announcement in the cafeteria. After getting the attention of the students, he announced his rally. Moments later, an audible booing broke out across the cafeteria and Avena promptly left the cafeteria.

Avena said he is at a disadvantage because Castle isn’t a popular choice.

“I’m the least-known candidate on the ballot and most people fear the unknown,” Avena said. “If everyone came to my rallies and listened about what I had to say, the whole school would be voting for me.”

Avena was undeterred and pursued an audience elsewhere. After gathering a crowd in the main hallway he began his speech on economic policy. Avena took many technical stances during the argument including federal government funding.

“Taxes should be collected by the states. If one state has 10% of the nation’s population, then they should have to pay 10% of the nation’s taxes,” Avena said.“Then the federal government would have to ask the states for money, not the other way around.”

He also covered topics such as the federal reserve and the controversy of other candidates during his speech.

Avena’s next event will be a rally concerning social issues tomorrow, Tuesday Oct.18.