Sign war

Last updated

A sign war is a competition between two or more organizations to gain the best visibility, or simply to engage in friendly "one-upmanship". The goal may be to put up more signs than one's competitors, or it may be to put up wittier signs.

Contents

Business sign wars

Sign wars between local businesses may consist of good spirited jabs at one another. For example, a sign war in Christiansburg, Virginia in 2021 started when a local music store challenged their neighboring shoe store to a sign war. The good-hearted "war" spread across town and attracted national attention. [1]

Political campaigns

In politics, sign wars are competitions between opposing political campaigns at events and/or locations where campaign visibility is paramount to each side. During a sign war, campaign workers, both staffers and volunteers, seek to have a greater sign presence than their opposition. Sign wars may consist of tens of thousands of signs in standard sizes ranging from placards to 4'x8's and may include a wide variety of signs that have been improvised by campaigns and their volunteers.

Sign wars as a campaign tactic

Journalists frequently report on sign wars during the campaign season. Particularly for campaigns that aren't large enough to have a regular stream of polling data for the local news media to report on, journalists will use other numbers based metrics such as the number of yard signs for each candidate in the district to help gauge support for individual candidates.

Candidates and campaign staff often stoke the fires of election sign wars to claim that their candidate has popular support among the voters in the district.

Notable political sign wars

A notable sign war occurs during the popular Shad Planking in Wakefield, Virginia. Every April, locals and politicians from all around the Commonwealth gather for some politicking, beer drinking, and fish eating.

Nationally, in August 2007, Democrat presidential hopefuls John Edwards and Barack Obama each claimed victory for his side in the sign war that occurred at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Probably one of the most famous sign wars occurs every presidential election year at the Jefferson Jackson dinner in Des Moines Iowa.[ citation needed ]

Sources

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election</span> 56th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, and Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. Obama became the first African American to be elected to the presidency, as well as being only the third sitting United States senator elected president, joining Warren G. Harding and John F. Kennedy. Meanwhile, this was only the second successful all-senator ticket since the 1960 election and is the only election where both major party nominees were sitting senators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 United States presidential election in Iowa</span>

The 2004 United States presidential election in Iowa took place on November 2, 2004, as part of the 2004 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Voters chose seven electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Republican President George W. Bush and his running mate, Vice President Dick Cheney, against Democratic challenger and Senator from Massachusetts John F. Kerry and his running mate, Senator from North Carolina John Edwards. Six third parties were also on the ballot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shad Planking</span>

The Shad Planking is an annual political event in Virginia which takes place every April near Wakefield in Sussex County. It is sponsored by a chapter of the Ruritans, a community service organization which was founded in the small town of Holland about 30 miles to the southeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries</span> Selection of the Democratic Party nominee

From January 3 to June 3, 2008, voters of the Democratic Party chose their nominee for president in the 2008 United States presidential election. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was selected as the nominee, becoming the first African American to secure the presidential nomination of any major political party in the United States. However, due to a close race between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, the contest remained competitive for longer than expected; neither candidate received enough pledged delegates from state primaries and caucuses to achieve a majority, without endorsements from unpledged delegates (superdelegates).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Pederson</span> American politician

Sally Pederson is an American politician and editor who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007.

The following is a timeline of major events leading up to and immediately following the United States presidential election of 2008. The election was the 56th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008, but its significant events and background date back to about 2002. The Democratic Party nominee, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, defeated the Republican Party's nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses</span> Democratic caucus in the 2008 election

The 2008 Iowa Democratic presidential caucus occurred on January 3, and was the state caucuses of the Iowa Democratic Party. It was the first election for the Democrats of the 2008 presidential election. Also referred to as "the First in the Nation Caucus," it was the first election of the primary season on both the Democratic and Republican sides. Of the eight major Democratic presidential candidates, then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois received the most votes and was ultimately declared the winner of the Iowa Democratic Caucus of 2008, making him the first African American to win the caucus and the first African American to win a primary state since Jesse Jackson in 1988. Former U.S. Senator John Edwards of North Carolina came in second place and then-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York finished third, though Clinton received more delegates than Edwards. Campaigning had begun as early as two years before the event.

The 2008 presidential campaign of John Edwards, former United States Senator from North Carolina and Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004 began on December 28, 2006 when he announced his entry into the 2008 presidential election in the city of New Orleans near sites devastated by Hurricane Katrina. On January 30, 2008, Edwards returned to New Orleans to announce that he was suspending his campaign for the Presidency. On May 14, 2008, he endorsed Barack Obama at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Debates took place prior to and during the 2008 Democratic primaries. The debates began on April 26, 2007, in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Virginia</span> Politics of a U.S. state

The politics of Virginia have followed major historical events and demographic changes in the commonwealth. In the 21st century, the northern region has become more liberal in attitudes and voting, constituting a reliable voting bloc for Democrats and joining with population centers in the Richmond Metropolitan and Hampton Roads areas to dominate the state. Political orientation varies by region, with the larger cities and suburban areas generally voting Democratic and the rural areas voting Republican. The southern, rural regions have remained rural and conservative. Until 2021 when the GOP swept all statewide offices, Virginia was shifting more Democratic and now is considered a swing state again by most pundits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Dodd 2008 presidential campaign</span> 2008 presidential campaign of Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd

The 2008 presidential campaign of Chris Dodd was launched on January 11, 2007, and ended on January 3, 2008, after a sixth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. Dodd, the senior senator from Connecticut, sought the nomination of the Democratic Party for president of the United States. Centering his campaign in the states of Iowa and New Hampshire, he centred his campaign on the theme of change. Dodd's performance in the opinion polls varied, but in the financial sphere, he had secured some notable and influential endorsements who were the ones largely funding his campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election in Iowa</span>

The 2008 United States presidential election in Iowa took place on November 4, 2008, as part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose seven representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary</span>

The 2008 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary on January 8, 2008 was the first primary in the United States in 2008. Its purpose was to determine the number of delegates from New Hampshire that would represent a certain candidate at the National Convention. In a primary, members of a political party—in this case, the Democratic Party—will select the candidates to a subsequent election. Since 1920, New Hampshire has always hosted the first primaries in the entire nation. The Democratic Party's primary occurred on the same day as the Republican primary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Nevada Democratic presidential caucuses</span>

The 2008 Nevada Democratic presidential caucuses took place on January 19, 2008 after having been moved from a later date by the Nevada Democratic Party. The Nevada Democratic Caucus was considered important in determining the eventual party nominee, as many described it as the "Bellwether of the West" seeing as how it is the first Western state to vote in the Democratic Presidential Primary season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary</span>

The 2008 Florida Democratic presidential primary took place on January 29, 2008. Originally, the state had 185 delegates up for grabs that were to be awarded in the following way: 121 delegates were to be awarded based on the winner in each of Florida's 25 congressional districts while an additional 64 delegates were to be awarded to the statewide winner. Twenty-five unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates, were initially able to cast their votes at the Democratic National Convention.

The 2008 presidential campaign of Tom Vilsack, former Iowa Governor began on November 30, 2006, the 2nd to officially announce a run. Vilsack had previously been considered as Vice Presidential candidate for Senator John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. He ran for the Democratic Party's 2008 nomination for President of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Democratic Party presidential primaries</span> Selection of the Democratic Party nominee

From January 3 to June 5, 2012, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 2012 United States presidential election. President Barack Obama won the Democratic Party nomination by securing more than the required 2,383 delegates on April 3, 2012, after a series of primary elections and caucuses. He was formally nominated by the 2012 Democratic National Convention on September 5, 2012, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mitch Stewart is an American political campaign organizer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evan Bayh 2008 presidential campaign</span> 2008 presidential campaign of Evan Bayh

The 2008 presidential campaign of Evan Bayh, Democratic Senator and 46th Governor of Indiana, began shortly after the 2004 presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election in Iowa</span>

The 2012 United States presidential election in Iowa took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Iowa voters chose six electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.

References

  1. Yun, Tom (April 25, 2021). "A 'sign war' has erupted in a Virginia town and now the world is watching". CTV. CTV. For the past week and a half, businesses in the town of Christiansburg, Va. have engaged in a friendly "sign war," poking light-hearted fun at each other through puns.