Pickle election tightens as campaigns push for favorites
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on November 8, 2016 10:15 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Jade White, center, suggests some last minute changes to her group that is campaigning for votes for hamburger dill pickles Monday at Meadow Lane Elementary. Second grade students chose between kosher dill, hamburger dill and bread and butter pickles to campaign for and will vote his morning to decide a favorite.
It was the kind of election many Americans this season can only dream of.
For students in Ms. Himes class at Meadow Lane Elementary, there was no name-calling, no nasty words or political drama.
There were just pickles.
The students, from the first and second grades, participated in a mock "pickle election" campaign Monday morning, as they pitched their crunchy candidates to an assembled group of kindergarten voters.
Armed with self-made signs, the groups advocated for one of three different kinds of pickle. One group stood in support of the hamburger dill pickle, while another backed the bread and butter pickle. The two remaining groups worked together to form a campaign force in favor of the kosher dill.
Ms. Himes said that the exercise had been in the works for some time, as the children learned about the electoral and campaign process and worked on their pitches. This final presentation was to be the last before the kindergarten constituents voted for their favorite flavor.
Rylee Bond, 7, said that the choice was really rather simple.
"Kosher dill is the best," she said. "It's a bit sour, and it's crunchy."
Second-grader Sydney Dickerson, on the other hand, was firmly in the bread and butter camp. She laid out her groups campaign strategy ahead of their appearance.
"We're doing a speech, asking some questions," she said. "Just telling everybody that bread and butter is the best."
Hamburger dill campaign staffer Jade White explained her teams strategy of tying their candidate to an already-loved food item.
"Hamburger dill is already in every hamburger," she said, turning to the kindergartners, "Who here loves hamburgers?"
Hands shot up all around. A successful pitch.
By the end of the presentations, the crowd was clearly divided on how to proceed during voting the next day. As the kindergartners got ready to leave, some discussed among themselves which, if any, of the candidates were truly the best options available.
Others were not as unsure. One young girl's shout of "hamburger dill is the best" rang above the rest of the audience, echoed by a few like-minded individuals scattered around the room.
While adult Americans go to the polls Nov. 8 to decide the nation's leader, they can rest assured knowing that its pickle selection is in well-informed hands.