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Local businesses cash in on election

Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton masks at Taney's Costume Shop in Scranton are a big seller this year.
Aimee Dilger
Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton masks at Taney's Costume Shop in Scranton are a big seller this year.

While election season may give some voters a fright, the presidential candidates take center stage on the spookiest time of the year — Halloween.

From masks of Donald Trump’s face to cookies stamped with Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz’s names, local businesses are cashing in on the 2024 Election.

Paige Balitski discusses political costumes.
Aimee Dilger
Paige Balitski discusses political costumes.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is a hit at Taney’s Costume Shop in Scranton. Costume stylist Paige Balitski said people are rushing in to copy the former president’s signature comb-over. Her customers are skilled at keeping their political views close to the vest, but she confided she has a sixth sense for guessing which way they lean.

“You can almost tell by how they respond to the mask or the wig, whether it's going to be used for a funny thing or a serious thing…they’ll walk down the aisle, and they'll get as far as the Trump wig and they stop, they either look at it sideways and continue, or they stop dead in their tracks and they just laugh,” said Balitski.

Taney’s opened 98 years ago on Washington Avenue. It’s the kind of place where it’s not unusual for the shopper’s great-grandparents, the grandparents and now their own children to shop at Halloween, a costume party and even a school play, said Balitski.

“This is a happy place,” said Balitski, who wore cat ears and a Halloween-themed shirt. Customers buying political costumes either laugh about the candidates or share something “tongue-in-cheek,” but she said she never hears rude or inappropriate comments.

Like a bridal shop employee matching brides to the perfect dress, her years of training taught her to read into what people are really looking for. Taney’s is covered from floor to ceiling with mascot costume heads, couture santa costumes and special effects makeup. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, she said. She’s familiar with the hours-before-the-party panicked face some customers walk into the store with.

“Oh, ‘your wife sent you to get a costume for a party you have tonight’…I only have to ask them two questions: ‘Is the party indoors or outdoors and will you be eating and drinking,’” said Balitski.

She’s dressed at least two dumbfounded husbands like characters from the hit movie Top Gun and a dozen of other popular characters in the last week. People have an “aura” when they come into the store, she said. It’s not hard for her to guess whether it will be a challenge to match a customer to a costume. She often pieces together tens of costumes to create a look that matches the client’s vision.

Taney's Costume Shop.
Aimee Dilger
Taney's Costume Shop.

COVID nearly killed the business, she lamented. If it wasn’t for the community’s support, Taney’s would have been in trouble. This is the first year Taney’s seen an “uptick in the political movement” since the pandemic. Taney’s displays somewhere between 80 to 120 political masks and has hundreds in stock, said Balitski. Memorable faces like Abraham Lincoln and the Statue of Liberty line the walls. 2008 and 2012 Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama made an appearance towards the front of the store.

“The Obamas definitely were very, very popular. And surprisingly, Dick Cheney was too as a vice president,” said Balitski. “Like I said, you don't usually get calls for that, but he had some very interesting events that went on in his political career and people were coming in and buying the mask and pairing it up with hunting gear.”

Cheney accidentally shot Harry Whittinton, a millionaire attorney connected to Texas’s Republican Party in 2006 with birdshot pellets while the two were quail hunting. Whittington survived injuries to his face, neck and chest, but suffered a minor heart attack due to a pellet near his heart. He died in Feb 2023 at 95 years old.

Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is notably absent from Taney’s wall in mask-form. Balitski explained that vice presidents are not usually popular as costume options and Harris’ entrance into the race 14 weeks ago on July 21 gave distributors too little time to develop and ship out costumes.

Most of Taney’s political mask sales are for Trump, but customers can find President Joe Biden on the wall as well.

Take a bite out of the election

As people gear up for the election at Taney’s, voting and election coverage is hungry work.

Tuzzi Baking Company in Berwick, Columbia County started selling Election Day pizzas and cookies this year to satisfy the swing state’s appetite.

Owner Mary Tuzzi’s bakers use stencils to bake pizzas with cheese in the shape of the presidential and vice presidential tickets. Tuzzi’s cookies alo fuel people’s political cravings and sell out quickly with each restock, she said. With an edible printer, bakers print images of the political tickets onto each cookie. Tuzzi got the idea from Lochel’s Bakery in Hatboro, near Philadelphia, who started selling election-themed cookies in 2008, according to the Associated Press.

Like at Taney’s, Trump’s making up most of Tuzzi’s presidential orders. Tuzzi crunched the numbers early this week on Oct. 28 and said the poll is split 84 percent Trump and 16 percent Harris.

“Right now, Trump is ahead. We just got a large order for an event. Last Saturday at Montage [Mountain, Polaris National Security] ordered 800 cookies for its event.

Polaris is a Republican political action committee (PAC) run out of Massachusetts, according to OpenSecrets.

Tuzzi said her political pizza and cookie polls are for fun, but that the company faces some unkind comments over social media. She hopes customers will understand that Tuzzi is not supporting any particular candidate with its specialty orders.

“It's just sad you get, like, terrible comments…I mean, we are carrying both cookies to make both political parties happy. You know, I guess you can't just appease everybody,” said Tuzzi.

Pop-up Trump stores

Some businesses were solely created to support a particular candidate. Stores around the country have opened in support of Trump. The Trump Store in Edwardsville, Luzerne County is no exception. Cashier Aliyah Lyons said all the store’s sales go directly to the Trump campaign.

Her customers share their hardships with her and talk about how they are excited about a second Trump term.

The shop is selling gear from whisky bottles with an imprint of a bullet and Trump’s golden sneakers.

Election Day is Nov. 5. To find your polling place, visit the Pennsylvania Department of State's polling place page.

Isabela Weiss is a storyteller turned reporter from Athens, GA. She is WVIA News's Rural Government Reporter and a Report for America corps member. Weiss lives in Wilkes-Barre with her fabulous cats, Boo and Lorelai.

You can email Isabella at isabelaweiss@wvia.org