Gabrielle Giffords intern Daniel Hernandez defeated in bid to be student body president

Daniel Hernandez, the 21-year-old intern who rushed to the  aid of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords when she was shot in January, was defeated on Friday in a special election to become the University of Arizona's student body president.

Hernandez received national acclaim earlier this year after he helped Giffords when she was shot in the head in the mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona. Hernandez, who had been on the job for less than a week, applied pressure to Giffords' gunshot wound, and some have credited him with saving her life.

Still, the University of Arizona junior lost to rival James Allen, also a junior, by a significant margin. Hernandez came in second place, with 436 votes (about 21 percent) while Allen earned 1,312 votes (about 66 percent).

The candidates competed in a special election after both were disqualified from March's general election for campaign violations.

"It feels great," Allen said upon hearing word of his victory last Friday, according to Arizona University's Daily Wildcat. "I'm so passionate about this, this office, that's why I've pursued it to this point. I've meant every word I've said and to finally come to the completion and this result is an unbelievable feeling."