Red Wing Bakery Starts Presidential Cookie Poll

RED WING, Minn. — Hanisch Bakery in southern Minnesota has introduced a creative twist on political polling with its 2024 presidential cookie poll, which began last week. The bakery is tracking cookie sales for the two major candidates: Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. In the initial week of the poll, Trump is leading with 314 cookies sold compared to Harris' 192. Owner Bill Hanisch expressed enthusiasm for the poll, emphasizing its fun nature and the community engagement it fosters. "It'll be a long process, it'll be a fun one," he stated, highlighting the bakery's goal of allowing customers to support their preferred candidate in a lighthearted manner. The cookie poll has become a beloved tradition over the past four decades, with the bakery claiming a strong track record of accurately predicting election outcomes, despite some notable exceptions. Historically, the cookie poll has shown mixed results. In 2020, Trump led the cookie sales but ultimately lost the election to Joe Biden, who won the popular vote by approximately 7 million. Similarly, in 2012, a last-minute surge of cookie purchases for Mitt Romney briefly placed him ahead in the poll. Hanisch Bakery plans to continue selling and tallying cookies until the end of business on Election Day, inviting the community to participate in this sweet electoral tradition.