Daniel Rohrbacker, vice president of the Student Council at Sewell Elementary, tries to talk a classmate into buying a Boo-Gram.

Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

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Students at Rincon High School are so into the race at the top of the national political ticket that the school granted their request to tailgate the election, equipped with all-American favorites such as hot dogs, hamburgers and apple pie.

At Drachman Montessori Magnet Elementary School, there were hoots and boos when Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., told the crowd of fourth- and fifth-graders that his sports teams were the Raiders, the Lakers and the Yankees. The students were no less vocal when they dragged out of him that he's part of Team Obama.

And at Sewell Elementary School, there wasn't the political energy last year to sustain a student council. This year, with the national race capturing minds, hearts, airwaves and at least one high-profile blue-collar job category, Sewell kids got the political bug, with posters calling from the halls and races heating up the ballot.

Just like their counterparts across the nation, Tucson K-12 students have wholly embraced politics this election year, a trend that teachers say not only is providing ample academic material but is helping cement strong citizenship skills.

Sewell fourth-grader Daniel Rohrbacker won the vice presidency for the school, borrowing a theme from Sen. Barack Obama in his pitch to the voting masses that "this election is not about me — it's about you."

It's also about lobbying for more playground equipment and sprucing up the outside water fountains.

And eliminating chicken pot pies from the menu — a key component of several platforms.

Now happily ensconced in office and helping organize Backwards Day, when students will wear their clothes the wrong way, Daniel said he was intrigued by the race for the Oval Office. "The real presidential race inspired me to run because it seemed like it would be fun," said Daniel, who watched all of the debates and discussed them with his friends at school.

He's already picked up some political tips from the pros, including relying on some grassroots get-out-the-vote work from his younger brother.

"You have to have good reasons when you answer each question, to persuade people to vote for you."

When Daniel goes to the polls Monday to participate in Kids Voting Arizona, he'll cast his vote for Obama — a position he's discussed with the council secretary, who is a fan of Republican hopeful John McCain.

"Even though the votes won't count, it's important to vote because our country is a democracy and we get to vote when other countries don't get to," Daniel explained.

Preliminary votes so far from the Student/Parent National Mock Election show Obama with a lead nationally, but the race was too close to call for Arizona among young voters, with Obama carrying just shy of 49 percent of the vote to McCain's 47 percent. Because there was so much interest in the race, organizers extended the deadline from Oct. 30 to allow students to continue voting through Nov. 4.

Similarly, results won't be available until Election Day from Kids Voting Arizona, but Obama took the September presidential preference election.

Sabino High School government and world history teacher Marc Humphrey said he's been wowed by the energy his students have poured into the race. His Advanced Placement seniors divided up into parties, made campaign videos, pored through budgets and combed through the candidates' positions on key issues.

Good for Obama: They understand the role taxes play in supporting programs citizens want.

Good for McCain: They generally share his opposition to the concept of redistribution of wealth.

As for universal health care, at least 75 percent aren't supportive, Humphrey said.

Quite aside from how the votes are shaking out, Humphrey said his students have told him they feel this election is vital.

"I heard from one senior that students are seeing this as a turning point in American history — and not just because of who the candidates are, but because of the economic crisis, the ongoing war and the new threats and skirmishes out there. They're asking questions like whether we're falling away from being a superpower to sharing a stage with other countries. Is this temporary or is this a realignment of the world order?"

Rincon government teacher Brenda Tyler noticed the same phenomenon. Her students had so many questions about the economy that she brought in a bankruptcy judge and a mortgage specialist to talk to them about the bailout plan. Even before she had a chance to propose going through the ballot propositions, they asked for the chance to learn about them.

"I've been doing this for 15 years and I think this is the most enthusiasm I've ever seen," she said.

Back at Drachman, Grijalva had hoped he could steer clear of partisan politics, but one of the first questions out of the gate was whom he supported.

There were the oh-what-kids-will-say questions, like whether he'd seen the president's secret book (no, that's why it's a secret) or his favorite food (er, they could see he's rather fond of food).

Most were pretty substantive: Who's in the lead (tough to say); did he respect McCain (absolutely, you have to respect that kind of service); and what he thought of the president (let's just say he respects the office).

"They were a tough crowd," he joked afterward.

Sewell Principal Cricket Gallegos said her students were jazzed about getting voter identification cards and ballots with the candidates' pictures on them. She even had to brush up on her knowledge of the more obscure candidates to answer questions.

And their political engagement is already starting to pay off.

"I learned that one of the drinking fountains on the primary playground was pretty yucky," she said. "I didn't know about that, but I'm working on it now."