My Annual NC State Fair "Poll" (Wizbang)

I spent yesterday at the North Carolina State Fair. Every year the Republicans and Democrat parties each have a booth at the fair and they pass out stickers for the various candidates for their party. For what it's worth, what I learned from what I saw there yesterday is that fair goers are overwhelmingly Republican. That might mean less than in past years because, due to the economy, attendance is way down this year. Many of the Democrat numbers in NC come from bigger cities like Charlotte and Greensboro, and many of those who attend the state fair come from towns closer to Raleigh and from rural areas. I'll report what I saw though.

The first couple of hours at the fair I noticed a few McCain-Palin stickers on people, then began to see more and more as the day progressed. By the time we made it to the building with the Republican and Democrat booths I was seeing a bunch of McCain-Palin stickers, but no Obama ones. I first wondered if the Democrats didn't have booth this year, but saw a few Obama stickers once we entered the building. I had to stand in line at the GOP booth to get a McCain-Palin sticker to wear, and also picked up a bumper sticker while there. There were four workers at the GOP booth and they were working furiously behind the table to pass out stickers to all those waiting in line. When I passed the Democrat booth there were a few people there, but no line like at the GOP booth and there was a Dem worker in front of the booth "stickering" people as they walked by. For the remainder of the day I saw at least a 4 to 1 majority of people wearing McCain stickers. I was stopped by two people wanting to know where I got my McCain sticker.

As I said earlier, this is a very non-scientific "poll" of people who probably tend to be more Republican anyway, just as a poll of people at a military event would no doubt overwhelmingly favor McCain. What should be noted though is that in past years it has been right in line with the final NC vote for President. This year is not like previous years though. Due to the economy, and gas prices specifically, this year there are likely less attendees in lower income brackets. I live nearby and have a mom that always buys advance fair and ride tickets for us to take the grandkids, but for most people, especially those a long drive from Raleigh, the costs can be pretty significant if you want to ride the rides and eat anything.

I don't know if people are less willing to sport an Obama sticker than they were a Kerry or Gore one, but there were significantly less people wearing them yesterday. The most recent NC polls are showing a tie in the presidential race, but in the primary Obama's support was drastically underestimated by polls. So in NC those on both sides should assume nothing. I have another observation from the fair that I will post later, but right now I am headed to GOP headquarters to volunteer at the phone bank.

Note: I wrote this post earlier today, but forgot to take it out of "draft" status so it is just now posting. I am back from volunteering and several of the women making calls were talking about how many people were wearing McCain stickers. They went on different days and all said it was the same -- many more McCain than Obama supporters (at least more willing to wear McCain on their shirts than Obama).

Comments (8)

Well you should try being h... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by Hestrold | October 22, 2008 7:05 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Hestrold:

Well you should try being here in Northern California. I've only seen two McCain lawn signs and one of them is in my yard. The Obama signs are EVERYWHERE, bumper stickers EVERYWHERE, it's a Liberal love fest.

Posted on October 22, 2008 19:05

Did you discover which way ... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by Captain America | October 22, 2008 7:43 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

Captain America:

Did you discover which way Mickey, Minnie, and the dead fish are going this year?

Posted on October 22, 2008 19:43

Last week I attend the Sout... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by Scott Lassiter | October 22, 2008 8:32 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Scott Lassiter:

Last week I attend the South Carolina State Fair. The McCain-Palin booth was jammed with people and the Obama booth was empty. An elderly couple sat in the Obama booth and we spoke briefly to them....they were sort of cute and very polite. Saw many McCain-Palin stickers being worn and few Obama stickers. Interestingly, with all the African-Americans at the fair, I never saw even one of them wearing an Obama sticker. Don't know why that would be the case.....or the meaning.

Posted on October 22, 2008 20:32

Lorie,You must be ... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by Lonzo | October 22, 2008 10:20 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Lonzo:

Lorie,

You must be careful with words in this PC/racial sensitive world. You wrote: "Many of the Democrat numbers in NC come from bigger cities like Charlotte and Greensboro". Never use "bigger". It will be twisted. "Larger" is a much better word.

Posted on October 22, 2008 22:20

When Obama is sworn in we a... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by Lorie Byrd | October 22, 2008 11:48 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Lorie Byrd:

When Obama is sworn in we are all screwed. It doesn't matter which words I use, they will always be construed as racist, or code, or too southern, or just plain not allowed to be spoken. I don't think the Obamathought police are going to be able to convert me, but they might silence me. I have two kids and as much as it pains me to say it, if the Obama thugs continue to intimidate those who criticize him, I might have to retire from blogging until my kids are a little older. I don't want to put them in harm's way.

Posted on October 22, 2008 23:48

Well you should try bein... (Below threshold)

6. Posted by Anna | October 23, 2008 2:10 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Anna:

I live in Northern California, too. In my town, i've seen very few Obama yard signs and bumper stickers, unlike in 2000 and 2004 where there were LOTS of Gore and Kerry signs. I've had a McCain-Palin sign for the last three weeks, and 3 have been stolen so far. I just keep replacing them.

I'm also a volunteer with the local campaign headquarters, and we couldn't keep the yard signs in stock. They were flying out the door. We also got a lot of requests for the huge signs that can be placed along the highway, but someone screwed up and we never got the ones alloted for us.

I've spoken to several people who've voted for Democrats all their lives, but are voting for McCain this time. Invariably, their reason is Obama's liberalism and his relative inexperience, especially in light of Putin's adventures in Eastern Europe.

Of course the Democrats have been doing their usual dirty bag of tricks. They threw a rock through the window of our headquarters, and at least one Republican had her house TP'ed. Would be one thing if that was done by juveniles, but a witness said that the people who did it (they planted several Obama signs on her lawn, too) were older people. Wish they'd grow up.

Posted on October 23, 2008 02:10

We were there Sunday aftern... (Below threshold)

7. Posted by Mitchell | October 23, 2008 3:36 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)

Mitchell:

We were there Sunday afternoon--too crowded; I'm avoiding first Sunday next year.

Anyway, I agree with Lori's assessment. We saw lots of McCain/Cuda stickers, but there were some The One stickers--but definitely outnumbered.

My brother in law actually had people come up to him and ask where they could find the McCain stuff.

Perhaps the Latte Sippers don't attend the Fair to a significant degree, but it'll take a lot more than sissified city slickers to win it in NC.

Go McCain.

Posted on October 23, 2008 03:36

Lori,I've heard th... (Below threshold)

8. Posted by Jamie R. | October 23, 2008 2:56 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)