[Caffeinated Campaign 2008] By most accounts, John McCain's victory on Nov. 4 is assured in Utah, right?Oh, if only the coffee drinkers of the state knew their power.
I got this e-mail today from Marci Woodward, who noted she is 27 years old and lives in West Valley City:
In what world would Utah ever turn Democratic in a presidential election? Well, in the exclusive world of 7-Eleven coffee drinkers – IT HAS!!!
I have commonly heard the argument that in Utah, my Democratic vote doesn’t count in a presidential election because Utah'a Electoral College votes will always go to the Republican presidential candidate. I was recently invigorated by a silly competition sponsored by the convenience store, 7-Eleven. At 7-Elevens nation wide, coffee drinkers can buy presidential election coffee cups and the stores are counting the votes. The running tally results can be found on the 7-Eleven Web site.
As I am writing this, 7-Eleven coffee drinkers in Utah are 60 percent in favor of Barack Obama and 40 percent in favor of John McCain! Can you believe it – Utah supporting Democratic candidate Barack Obama! I realize these results are less than reliable, given that a large base of Utah voters do not drink coffee and that one opinionated coffee drinker can purchase multiple cups of coffee in support of their candidate, but this is significant nonetheless.
If you think about it, Utah (Salt Lake County specifically) supports a large enough population of coffee drinkers to have Starbucks, Beans & Brew, an abundance of small drive-though coffee shacks, restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores all making a profit from coffee sales. Can you imagine what might happen if every coffee drinker in Utah would register to vote! True, in the 2008 election, Utah will undoubtedly vote for Republican John McCain but I have a vision that in a future presidential campaign, Utah could be considered an undecided state! If you live in Utah and you drink coffee, please register to vote today and show up to vote for this year’s election Tuesday November 4.
Thanks Marci! Now let's all get our jittery bodies to the polls.
(Holly Mullen)
