For more than a week, Billy Stephens assumed he was running unopposed for president in the upcoming Student Government Association elections.

Stephens now has competition from Diego Leal Ambriz, who filed after the deadline was extended.

The original deadline was March 4, but SGA Chief Justice Dajana Crockett decided on Monday to extend the deadline to turn in applications to Tuesday. She said not enough people turned theirs in before spring break.

Stephens and Leal Ambriz will face off in the elections, which are March 29-30 on TopNet. Leal Ambriz said he was initially unsure if he had the time to run for president, but after a meeting with his adviser, he decided to apply.

“I figured out how many classes I need to take, and since my term as (Alpha Tau Omega fraternity) president ends in the beginning of the school year, I would be able to devote enough time to SGA as president,” Leal Ambriz said.

Leal Ambriz, a former exchange student, said he wants to give back to WKU.

“WKU has done so much for me, and ever since I have been here people have been so welcoming,” he said. “I am looking for a way to give back, and when I joined SGA I knew I could do that. As president I could do even more.”

Stephens said he was happy when he found out Leal Ambriz was also running for president.

“I want competition,” he said. “If I have an opponent, it helps out students, and it helps out campaigning because we can both get the name of SGA out there. It makes me better too since it is not just handed to me.”

Jessie said he expects it to be a very competitive presidential election.

“Both of them been in the organization for a while and have been very passionate since day one,” he said.

Those running for the other two executive positions remain unchanged.

Current President Colton Jessie said there are now more than 36 candidates running for the 36 SGA Senate spots. The election would have been uncontested before the deadline was extended.

Kendrick Bryan and Katie Stillwell are running for executive vice president, while Devon Hilderbrandt is running unopposed for administrative vice president.

Campaigning began on Tuesday.

Jessie said it’s important that everybody who filed “hit the ground running.”