One week before Election Day, Brian Baumgartner, known for playing Kevin Malone in “The Office,” visited Scranton to lighten spirits and draw attention away from the nationwide political divide.
His offering? Some spicy sausage.
“[The election] should be a coming together. It should be a uniting thing,” Baumgartner said. “And it’s become so divisive and so much money wasted that this is my way of saying I’m sorry that you’ve had to endure all of this.”
Johnsonville, a sausage brand based in Wisconsin, partnered with Baumgartner for the event on Courthouse Square as part of the company’s “Keep it Juicy” campaign. It’s a reminder to “twist life’s dial to medium-low and share a meal with good, imperfect people.”
The message is a timely one.
Northeast Pennsylvania, part of the coveted swing state, is “politically overserved,” with major political campaigns spending $81 million on advertisements locally, according to data from AdImpact.
The region that includes President Joe Biden's hometown has long been a political battleground and frequent campaign stop. This year's election is even hotter — and people in Scranton are being reminded to cool down.
“I was shocked when I heard that $81 million has been spent just on advertising alone to this region,” Baumgartner said. “It is impossible for me to not think what could we have done with $81 million for the people of Scranton and Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
'Loving the vibe' on Courthouse Square
Marc Bennett, integrative marketing manager for the company, explained the idea behind the sausage campaign.
“It’s really about the culture in America today and trying to make sure that we’re turning down the temperature and spending more time together having fun,” he said. “We think people are hanging out a little bit less, and they should hang out more.”
Baumgartner, accompanied by a film crew, interviewed locals before donning an apron and serving up some sausage in an act of solidarity. The setup included the slogan "Sausage stands with Scranton," and t-shirts were given away saying "I wanna Lacka Political Ads," a play on words in reference to Lackawanna County.
“I am really loving the vibe,” said Sydney Smith-Senese, who came across the sausage party on her lunch break.
'The ads are a little bit overwhelming'
Baumgartner, who lives in California, said he was surprised how frequently the presidential candidates showed up on screen while he watched the World Series in Scranton the night before.
California Kahn, one of the visitors to Courthouse Square, agreed.
"That's kind of the only thing that we're seeing is political ads," Kahn said. "It's nice to come down here and take a break from it for a little bit."
Martha Bamkin, of Clarks Summit, said she is "looking forward to it being over very soon.”
“I didn’t realize it was so extreme here honestly,” Bamkin said. “The ads are a little bit overwhelming for sure. The texts are constant, the emails are constant."
A report from the American Psychological Association titled Stress in America 2024 found that 77% of adults are stressed about the future of the nation. The U.S. Presidential Election was reported as a significant source of stress by 69% of those surveyed.
“I’m actually muting and pausing the political ads on Instagram and Facebook, and the TV especially,” Smith-Senese said.
In addition to the advertisements, road signs and billboards that can’t be missed, campaign stops in the area have created sporadic motorcade traffic.
“We live really close to the airport actually,” said Sara Bowman of Moosic. “Whenever they shut down [Interstate] 81 for a big candidate it causes problems for us.”
President Biden will visit Scranton Saturday for ‘political engagements,’ the White House announced Tuesday.
Baumgartner, who has visited Scranton roughly a dozen times since 2007, will be back in the area Nov. 6 to promote his newest book, "The Night Before Christmas at Dunder Mifflin." There will be a public book signing event at Books-A-Million (BAM) in Dickson City starting at 6:30 p.m.
He also thinks he'll be back to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "The Office" in 2025.
"I would love to come back and bring a bunch of my friends," he said.
