Trump wins Stanley, Boyd in election sign counts

TRUMP TAKES BOYD. If you’re a registered (or even just yet-to-be-registered) Democrat living within the Friendly Town neatly placed outside of House District 7 without a clear geographical reason and don’t want to see this headline in five to six weeks’ time, then you need to make sure you’re both registered to vote and also do so on or by November 3rd. Judging by the displayed local yard signs, it could be about to happen. We took a road trip this past Friday to give the 411 to newspaper readers. This, is what we found.

In the first place, Donald J. Trump blows Joseph R. Biden out of the water in Stanley, Wisconsin with Trump-Pence yard signs totaling 81 to a corresponding 10 for the Biden-Harris ticket. In this count yard signs which included slogans with Trump’s name attached (such as “preserve freedom” or “vote law and order”) were counted as being Trump support indicators rather than as support for police or another separately counted category. American flags were not counted as indicating either candidate, though red, white, and blue was used in both parties signage.

Moving from Stanley to Boyd meanwhile, it was a smaller margin but still a win for Trump, with 7-3 the official count for Trump-to-Biden yard sign support. The center of visible Trump support in Boyd was on Supple Street, with three out of seven total Trump signs village-wide. A door on the village’s east side draped in a battle ensign which contained the national flag of Scotland was not counted as indicating support for either Trump or Biden.

Meanwhile when it comes to races further down the ballot, the principle that a rising tide lifts all boats (i.e. that the party’s official Presidential nominee also affects other candidates) played out in interesting if inconclusive ways. Without prior area data to go on, little can be said. These are the current numbers at any rate.

In the first place County Register of Deeds candidate Deborah Sorensen, running on the November ballot as an Independent, currently has a three-sign lead (all from Boyd) over Melanie K. McManus, who is running as a Democrat in this November’s election after defeating fellow Democrat Rhonda Kunsman of Bloomer in the August partisan primary. No other canby

Paid for by Friends of Melanie McManus didates are registered in local sign support or on the upcoming November election ballot for Chippewa County Register of Deeds.

Switching from the local to more national races with local votes, Tom Tiffany and Tricia Zunker are tied in local support for the District 7 U. S. House race, with one sign each in Stanley and none in Boyd. This lack of visible District 7 candidate support could be because Boyd is in U. S. House District 3, in which case, Derrick Van Orden wins out over Ron Kind and Jessi Ebben, with one sign in Stanley and two Boyd signs to one each for Kind and Ebben in Boyd. Interestingly enough, the local support for Ebben comes in the wake of her defeat by Van Orden for District 3 Republican candidate for the U. S. House. this August. Could there be a protest vote in the offing? Time will tell.

Finally, in local state races, Emily Berge for Wisconsin’s 68th Assembly District has a strong lead over Jesse James in the area. Recently visiting town to connect with local residents at a Soo Park event in Stanley, the Eau Claire councilwoman is now surging against the one-time sheriff from Altoona, with six signs in Stanley to James’ one, along with a Berge sign in Boyd to make seven total. Only one, can win—but with this observation pertaining to candidate-based issues, what about non-candidate based political topics, like farm and police support?

Also tallied in Friday’s four-hour, 61 mile crisscross of local streets and neighborhoods (minus 12 miles total travel to and from Boyd) was a tally of the visible support for both law enforcement and area farmers. Judging by the signs, local residents of Boyd and Stanley support law enforcement with six signs in Boyd to Stanley’s nine. Advertised Boyd police support is centered on Murray Street whereas Stanley is more diffused.

Meanwhile for the farm support numbers, more visible support was registered in Stanley than Boyd, with a ratio of 5 to 1 respectively. Whatever you do this November, just don’t vote twice. Poll workers CAN AND DO make mistakes, and if you’re later arraigned on a vote fraud charge for funny business you could end up a convicted Class I felon—no voting while you serve your sentence.