‘Cookie poll’ predicts Trump leading against Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania
A local bakery in Pennsylvania, a key swing state in the US, is sweetening the 2024 Presidential race by offering customers a unique way to show support for their candidate — through cookies.
The bakery’s owner, Kathleen Lochel, has created a buzz with her red cookies for Donald Trump and blue cookies for Kamala Harris. Each sale is tracked as part of an unofficial “cookie poll” that has drawn national attention.
A swing state in US elections is a state where both major political parties have similar levels of support, making it critical in determining the overall election outcome.
Lochel has been regularly updating her bakery’s followers on social media, announcing earlier that her political cookies had sold out for the weekend. By Friday morning, Trump cookies were leading in sales, with 5,200 sold compared to just 500 Harris cookies.
“I think people support Trump all over,” Lochel told Fox & Friends First, highlighting that almost all of her Pennsylvania orders were for red cookies. “We’ve only shipped seven blue packages in Pennsylvania.”
Lochel stated that her customers are voicing their frustration over how high costs under the Biden-Harris administration are impacting them.
“A lot of people are upset right now about the cost of things, they’re venting to us,” she stated.
This is not the first time that the bakery has hosted the cookie poll. Lochel began the tradition in 2012, correctly predicting the winner of three out of four elections. However, her streak ended in 2020 when more Trump cookies were sold, despite Joe Biden’s victory.
Lochel attributes the idea to brainstorming during the challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, her cookie poll has expanded, with customers across the US placing orders. “A third of that number is being shipped across the United States,” she said, adding that people often share their frustrations with the current economic situation.
Despite the competitive nature of the poll, Lochel stresses that her bakery remains neutral. “We love all,” she said.
As of this week, Vice President Kamala Harris has taken a five-point lead over Republican nominee Donald Trump in the latest national polls, though the bakery’s cookie sales tell a different story.