While polls are certainly one way to predict how presidential elections will go, there are more unorthodox methods.
WTXF-TV reported Lochel’s Bakery in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, has a “cookie tally” dating back to 2012, in which customers can buy cookies for either party’s candidate. For 2024, the options are cookies with red sprinkles for former President Donald Trump and those with blue sprinkles for Vice President Kamala Harris.
The latest tally came before Tuesday’s debate, as WTFX reported the numbers exactly one week prior. While Tuesday may have shifted the tide, the cookies total bought up until that point said one thing: Trump is crushing Harris.
“Trump 2024” cookies had sold a total of 2,673 while “Harris 2024” cookies had only sold 291.
These were the totals for the week, with both candidates seeing an increase in sales from the previous week.
While buying cookies may seem like a silly way to predict an election, the candidate with the most cookies sold has won in every election except for 2020, when Trump outsold President Joe Biden, 31,804 to 5,750.
Owner Kathleen Lochel told Todd Piro of “Fox & Friends First” the cookies aren’t just popular locally — they are shipped all over the country.
Concerning the decision to order cookies for Trump or Harris, she said, “They’re [customers] telling us stories. A lot of people are upset right now with the cost of things, they’re venting to us.”
She hastened to add that “We stay neutral to everybody — we love all.”
Would you buy a Trump cookie over a Harris cookie?
Yes: 100% (30 Votes)
No: 0% (0 Votes)
While Lochel said about a third of her product goes outside Pennsylvania, as a critical swing state, she told Piro most of the cookies bought in-state were for Trump.
In commenting on the election and the tally for the Republican ticket, she said, “I think that people support Trump all over. The Trump name actually brings in a lot of business for many people.”
After 2016, when polling data was outrageously skewed in favor of Hillary Clinton, why not look to less typical methods like cookie sales for determining an election?
It could indicate a lot of things.
For one, Trump supporters may need to clean up their diets and hit the gym, while Harris supporters could be more health conscious.
That obviously isn’t the case, as anyone who’s ever gone to a left-wing rally or protest can attest to.
Jokes aside, it seems neither side should get comfortable with whatever predictions favor their candidate. They need to keep fighting until November.
As of Friday, statistician Nate Silver was giving Trump a 61 percent chance of winning the electoral college.
Professor Allan Lichtman’s “13 Keys to the White House” on the other hand, called for a Harris victory earlier this month.
Should we listen to the numbers guy, the historian or the cookies? Whichever you choose, it would be a mistake to believe either candidate is shoo-in with less than two months to go.
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