Busken Bakery | Illustration by Kayli Thompson | The Wright State Guardian
Busken Bakery has been conducting their own version of the presidential election since 1984, only instead of filling out a ballot, all patrons have to do is purchase a cookie.
History of the bakery
Growing up in the bakery business, Joseph Busken opened the first location of the Busken Bakery in Cincinnati, OH in 1928. Over the course of 92 years four more locations have opened, including one in Kentucky.
Growing in popularity post-WWII for their donuts and other sweet treats, five generations of Busken children have all operated the Busken Bakery business. Dan Busken joined the family business in 2004, officially taking the reins in 2006.
“My father actually created a written policy for the company, explaining that if any one of his six children wanted to work at the company, there had to be an open position.” president and CEO of Busken Bakery Dan Busken said, “But we were all required to work at least three years after college for another company.”
While the bakery was operated by Joe Busken Jr. and Page Busken, Dan’s grandfather and great uncle, the presidential campaign cookie sale tradition began. The first cookie prediction took place during the election of Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. The Busken Bakery sells cookies decorated as the Republican, Democratic and “Cookie” party candidates, and for nine consecutive elections the sales of these cookies have accurately predicted the winner of the election, from former President Reagan in 1984 up to President Donald Trump in 2016.
“We’re kind of hoping to maintain our streak,” said Dan Busken. “Ten elections in a row would be really awesome.”
Current candidate predictions
As of Oct. 30, the Busken Bakery Facebook pages shows President Donald Trump in the lead with 18,025 cookies sold across the three locations currently open during the coronavirus pandemic. Former Vice-President Joe Biden falls behind current President Donald Trump with 13,066 cookies sold. The “Cookie Party”, which represents a more neutral or third-party view, has 8,048 cookies sold.
“No surprise here,” said long-time customer Nicole Leta. “This is a republican area and it does not reflect our nation. I think there is hope that so many people just want to have a happy face [cookie party].”
Leta is not the only one skeptical of whether or not the Busken’s cookie sales will accurately predict this election. Wright State University (WSU) students share a similar doubt.
“Ohio is a swing state, and even if Ohio has been leaning Republican in the last couple of elections, I’m not sure if the sample population [Ohio] would not be enough to predict the outcome of such a controversial election,” said WSU student Cal Kahoun.
The Busken Bakery Facebook page will continue to be updated daily with sale numbers through election day.
For information on which locations are open during the coronavirus pandemic, go to: https://busken.com/locations/
