Who will win the presidential election? Pa. Bakery sells cookies as a poll

HATBORO, Pa. (AP) — A suburban Philadelphia bakery’s cookie survey that started during the 2008 presidential campaign as a joke between the owners and their customers has turned into something much bigger.

Lochel’s Bakery in Hatboro is flooded with orders. People drive hours to buy cookies in person, and mail orders are coming in from as far away as Alaska.

The bakery is selling 4-inch round sugar cookies, one with blue and white sprinkles and a Harris 2024 label, and the other with red and white sprinkles and a Trump 2024 label. The sale of each Harris 2024 cookie counts as a vote in the poll for Democrat Kamala Harris as well as Republican Donald Trump.

The cookie-cutter poll began in 2008 and correctly predicted the winner the first three times. But it failed to do so in 2020, when Trump lost the White House election to Democrat Joe Biden.

Kathy Lochel, whose husband is a third-generation baker, said sales skyrocketed last year as customers bought thousands of the cookies.

“It’s just a fun, non-stressful recap that we do,” Lochel said. “It’s definitely not scientific. It’s just a delicious way, as I say, to take the pressure off of what’s going on with the election, all the ads, all the campaign stuff, just a cookie.

“I can’t emphasize this enough. It’s just a cookie.”

Helene Moran bought Trump cookies for her 82nd birthday with her daughter and son-in-law, who live in North Carolina.

“What do we do when Trump runs for office,” said Moran, who lives near the bakery. “He’s my baby, I love him so much.”

This year, election cookie sales surpassed those in 2020.

“These cookies are now being shipped all over the United States, so we’re having delays in getting them, so we’re behind by about three, four weeks,” Lochel said.

For now, the bakery is guaranteeing that shipments will arrive by Election Day on Nov. 5, Lochel said. Customers driving from a few hours away may receive them sooner, she said.

It doesn’t hurt business that Lochel’s is located in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. It also doesn’t hurt that Lochel’s is located in a densely populated and moderate suburb of Philadelphia, where Trump and Harris are competing for support.

Trump’s numbers may have increased after he shared the cookie poll story on his social media platform. On Tuesday, Trump was ahead of Harris, 12,558 to 889 — a much larger lead than pollsters found.

Elections aside — with their attack ads, insults, and social media taunts — the cookie-buying public is feeling very positive and welcoming.

“The people who come into our store, whether they buy red cookies or blue cookies, are friendly, they joke, they laugh, they buy other things,” Lochel said.