I got on the bike and rode around town counting signs since it was a pleasant afternoon, I needed the exercise and the weather was cooperative. If anyone cares, riding most of the streets of Wellman is about 8 miles, according to the little odometer I put on the bike.
The totals three days before the election were President Obama 19 and Mitt Romney 11. The surprising thing was the guys who had left their Ron Paul signs on display finally took them down. Neither replaced them with a sign for another candidate. When I started, Romney signs predominated and jumped to an early 10 to 4 lead. It seems a bit ironic to see Romney signs in front of a trailer house or the little shotgun house which could use a coat of paint. I'm sure Romney would feel right at home in either of them.
When I made it to the north side of town, I began to see more Obama signs with several scattered on 8th and 9th avenues and a couple on Highway 22. There weren't as many signs in the "nicer" parts of town - Circle Drive(1) and the new area behind the nursing home (0). Finishing my ride I went through the trailer park near our house where there were three Obama signs.
It will be interesting to see if the signs reflect the actual vote. Washington County as a whole usually votes Republican so the goal of the local Democrats is to try and get as close as possible. Four years ago McCain won the county by 77 votes which was a "win" for Democrats since registered Republicans outnumber registered Democrats by quite a bit more than 77 voters. The local election results will be close again this year.
