The Sign Index

Filed in National by on August 19, 2008

While we wait….Who is winning the signage race?

Markell/Carney – I call this a draw, however I think it is interesting that Carney hides his party affiliation and running as the generic candidate while Markell is a proud Democrat.

Protack/Lee – I have not seen a sign for either.

Denn/Copeland – Copeland is out in front on signage. No mystery as to why he doesn not advertise that he is a Republican. This is all about next time for Copeland. Denn, where the signs at?

KHN/Northington/Miller – Miller is crushing in signage. I saw my first Northingtons today (The name was nice and big, but a bit too much text. A rookie mistake). I have yet to see a KHN. Keeping her powder dry or a campaign in disarray? Who knows.

For what it is worth, the overall statewide signage champion right now is clearly Gene Reed.

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Jason330 is a deep cover double agent working for the GOP. Don't tell anybody.

Comments (42)

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  1. JohnnyX says:

    A couple signage observations from my drive along route 1 from New Castle to Dewey Beach yesterday:

    1. Carney sign posters seem to be going for quantity (lots of little ones, in some spots like 5-10 in a row) whereas Markell is shooting for quality (fewer but bigger signs).

    2. Saw my first KHN signs along route 1 a little south of Milford – they were very small and somewhat hard to read due to unfortunate font and color choices.

  2. delawaredem says:

    In Brandywine Hundred, Markell wins hands down. I estimate the signage ration to be 10 to 1 Markell, and in that mix are pretty huge Markell signs along 202 and Philly Pike. Carney is bigger downstate.

    There are no Lee or Protack signs I have seen anywhere in Delaware.

    I have seen one Copeland sign (near Donviti’s house, no less), no Denn signs.

    I have seen some big Miller signs in Wilmington but no where else. I saw one HORRIBLE Hartley-Nagle sign (teal background, green letters???!!!???? picture of her). I have seen no Northington signs yet.

    Reed has the billboards up here, no yard signs.

  3. nemski says:

    Carney hides his party affiliation and running as the generic candidate while Markell is a proud Democrat.

    That’s laughable. Markell puts on his sign that he is a Democrat, because know one knows who he is.

    But thanks for the laugh; I don’t have to go to Delaware Politics for the rest of the day. BTW, they’re comparing Chavez to Obama today.

  4. jason330 says:

    The predictably stupid “Delawarepoltics.”

    My only regret is that I let Dave Burris have that URL.

  5. liz allen says:

    So hold to your seats….Karens signs will be up all over the State this weekend! Mike Millers are from years of running. There’s dem delaware liberals….eating their own again!

    Seen any Castle signs folks…would help if some of you actually ran a campaign….you dont put your signs out to soon for the detractors to steal them….which has already happened to some of Karens. Funny huh, I know a guy who has all the signs of those he supports and the only one stolen was a KHN sign. Thanks for thinkin!

    All new signs for KHN will be out this weekend so get your “sign followers” to post later. No campaign is won on signs. Note that Millers are only in Sussex…where he lives…too damn lazy to come up state where he has no support.

  6. jason330 says:

    Seen any Castle signs folks…

    Good catch. I have not seen a single one.

    And that reminds me, Copeland is copying the Castle branding – I guess in an attempt to tie himself to a Republican that people don’t think is off his rocker.

  7. cassandra_m says:

    In Wilmington, I think that the Carney/Markell signs are about even.

    There is one sign on Pennsylvania Ave fence for Carney held up by duct tape. There is a message in that sign, I think. I need to remember to bring my camera to take a picture of it.

    I have seen one KHN sign right at the corner of 4th and Washington.

    There are Lee and Copeland signs on Rt 52 — and some big Lee and Copeland signs up on the intersection of 100 and 141 and at the 202 exit of 95. One house on 52 has a GIANT Markell sign and also Copeland and Fleming signs. This house last round sported a banner for Bush/Cheney.

    The only Miller signs I see are on the backs of DART buses.

    I see alot of Gordon signs too.

  8. selander says:

    There’s a campaign adage that the only lawn signs that really matter are the ones around the candidates’ homes and work.

  9. jason330 says:

    Do you mind explaining that one for us Selander?

    Cass,

    You are right about Gordon for NCC. Kent and SC probably have some local signage overachievers as well.

  10. you people must be blind to not see the huge Lee signs. They are side by side with some copeland signs. There are some around 141 area and I see some on lawns around North Wilmington….

    No party affiliation of course

  11. selander says:

    Sure.

    They don’t actually change anybody’s mind.

    Nobody says – “Oh. I was going to vote for X, but Y has more signs.”

    However, they do take up huge amounts of campaign staff time when the candidate or spouse calls and says – “My wife is being out lawnsigned and now I think she’s losing so stop phone banking, canvassing and raising money and put signs out.”

    As long as you have the right routes covered, you can concentrate on actually changing people’s minds.

  12. jason330 says:

    Gracias amigo.

  13. mike w. says:

    I’ve seen quite a few Lee signs, not a single Protack sign.

  14. Amazed says:

    If my insurance policy says “All or part of your premium will be donated to Gene gReed.”, does this count as a campaign sign?

  15. P.I. says:

    Markell seems to have signs where they matter…on actual lawns. A great display on Rt 4 between Newport and Stanton has Markell on 8 successive houses anchored by a 4X8 on Sen Peterson’s lawn.

    Matt Denn reported he was giving the candidates in the primary ‘sign time’ before he puts his out. Not necessarily a good idea, but it’s his campaign.

    Protack signs don’t seem to exist and Lee Signs are minimal. Murphy Rd sports a couple of his and a couple of Copeland’s. Must be die hard R’s who are proud to announce they’re voting for losers.

    Jerry Northington has signs mostly in B’wine Hundred but little evidence elsewhere. KHN’s signs include her face which takes up valuable space that could actually make her name readable. Her vanity is misplaced. Mike Miller appears to be using re-treads along Rt 1.

    The most misplaced sign award should go to Rich Abbott who is taking up real estate in so many Senate districts it’s hard to tell which one he’s running in. Mike Terranova has Hockessin plastered.

    BTW, Why would Castle even need to put up signs? He’s already won that race…same as Biden for the Senate.

    There are lots of Gordon signs on lawns and lots of Coons signs in ROW’s. Are his supporters too ashamed to claim him as their hero?

  16. Karen’s signs are being delivered tomorrow, 2,500 of them. They’ll be up soon enough.
    The good thing about the primary run is that once the signs are up you get 30 days post primary to take them down and that segues into the 30 days ahead of the general so they stay up.

  17. Christine will probably put up her billboards per usual. No sightings of Miss Priss?

  18. Coons doesn’t have any supports outside of the HIGH DEMs and the PDD does he? Oh, I forgot about the development attorneys and friends of his fundraising chair, Lisa Goodman (land use attorney who took the prize this year for the most business before the county). Maybe they all live in Chadds Ford or something.

  19. Joe M says:

    Nancy,

    I sent Miss Priss an email that told her that campaign advertising was created by Satan. I signed it “The Pope”

  20. Andye Daley has signs all over the place I hear. Her primary opponent has them on every yard on his street but no where else.

  21. nemski says:

    Coons doesn’t have any supports outside of the HIGH DEMs and the PDD does he?

    Add to that people who read the News Journal. Christ, am I the only person that remembers the Gordon-Freebery travesty?

  22. h. says:

    Plenty of Copeland signs on rt.1 between Middletown and Dover. Seems like every 500ft.

    Signs suck. They make me not want to vote.

  23. Al Mascitti says:

    You know who had the most signs of any candidate I ever saw? Joe Farley. That’s what happens when you own the printing press. Which is why you’ll see so many Copeland signs, too.

    Abbott knows what he’s doing. If you look at a map of the district, it spreads all along the northern rim of the state. People in Centerville going down 141 or Hockessin going into Wilmington live in the district but work elsewhere. These have the effect of billboards. The real point of the signs is to put eyeballs on your candidate’s name; unlike TV advertising, you aren’t spending much for the extra eyeballs who can’t vote for you anyway.

    Coons has more signs than Gordon along the routes I travel, which are pretty much Republican areas. Which leads to another point on that race and the D’Anna polling figures: The Republicans who switched parties to vote for Markell are probably going to go for Coons over Gordon, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t show up among his likely Democratic primary voters.

  24. Al Mascitti says:

    “I saw my first Northingtons today. ”

    For some reason, I hear this line being delivered in a British accent by some be-khakied chap in a pith helmet returning to safari camp.

  25. I just heard that the KHN signs that are up so far are just window sighns. I think everyone will be pleased with her road signs.

    Joe, you’re a hoot!

  26. You may be surprised to hear who in Greenville has been entertaining Gordon…

    🙂

    don’t count those chickens yet!

  27. nemski,
    poor dear, are you under the delusion that Freebery is going to get anywhere near the county hall when Gordon takes office?
    Not a chance.

  28. liz allen says:

    Gordon’s signs are in people’s yards not on main corridors. Three went up today in my neighbors yards in the Bellefonte area. Nancy these people don’t have a clue about how much support Gordon has which is why Coons now has his eye on the Congressional race in 2010. Ain’t politricks grand!

  29. Bob Cooper says:

    I see Northington sign all over the place. I haven’t seen any Hartley-Nagle signs at all. Miller’s signs are already falling down –I wonder what that means.

  30. liz allen says:

    It’s all about being in compliance with the sign stuff. Some of our people actually believe in following the law…some think the bigger the better the sign, is actually better than getting real endorsements and real supporters willing to put the sign in their “YARD”, not some highway driveby!

  31. liz allen says:

    Cassandra: the KHN sign at 4th and Washington is my friends! He had a bunch of signs of people he was supporting, the only sign missing is KHN?

    It’s stupid to put the signs out to early, it does piss people off, they are distracting and the campaigners are told 30 days before and must be down 30 days after. I think it most interesting some can’t follow the law, and wonder why they arent being picked up by Deldot, who charges you to get them back. Doesn’t Delaware need some quick bucks?

  32. P.I. says:

    KHN should put peanut butter on her signs and eat them. At least her money wouldn’t be wasted.

  33. Gharmon says:

    Coons and Gordons yard signs look very similar–hopefully Gordons people can tell them apart when they start taking them down Sept. 10….

  34. MJ says:

    Lots of Lee signs down here in Rehoboth, but then again, that alkie lives down here. There’s a Copeland sign at Rte 1 and Rte 16. Jack has a lot of signs in the eastern part of the county, plus a couple in Ellendale and the only political sign on Rte 16 about a mile east of the MD state line between Rte 404 and Greenwood. Miller has a lot of signs up, but we don’t like homophobes who say they’re liberals.

  35. cassandra_m says:

    Liz, last time I looked, Mack had KHN’s sign there. I do go past that corner frequently so am no longer registering what is there or not there, but will look again.

    Was in the Triangle tonite and there are ALOT of Coons signs there. And one McCain sign.

  36. pandora says:

    That’s because Coons lived in the Triangle up until last year. Carney lives there as well as Harris McDowell.

    I believe the Triangle’s Meet the Candidates Night is August 25th (?) I’ve requested a list of candidates attending.

  37. cassandra_m says:

    You have alot of folks running for City Council, that’s for sure.

  38. pandora says:

    Ya think? The Triangle has always been a political neighborhood. Neighborhood being the key word, which I feel explains the strong support for Carney and Coons.

  39. Kyle Jacobson says:

    signs don’t vote

  40. Steve Newton says:

    I was driving down Rt 1 from Wilmington to the Beach on Friday and there were actually six or seven huge Protack signs (same size as the oversize Markell signs) on the eastern side of Rt 1 up on a ridge that–if memory serves–was just south of where Halloween land usually sets up.

  41. rsmitty says:

    Jason – Have you seen that utterly HUGE Miller sign on Rt 13 and Boyd’s Corner RD? Dammmnnn!!! That sucker is large.

    As far as Northington goes, I have seen many pop up lately, mostly in front of other signs (bad campaign workers, bad, go to your room). A few of them were directly in front of Miller lawn signs (along Rt 1, around the Rt 40 exit).

    Already too many signs for me, though, in general. One sign is too many, IMO.

    FWIW, only primary-candidates should have signs right now (on public properties). Fingers can be pointed all around (the index finger, please) on that.