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Why Chips Bags Are Never Full
October 16, 2024
After President Biden called Kamala Harris to say he was dropping out of the Presidential race, she ordered pizza from Andy’s.
According to The Washington Post, Democrats and Republicans eat at different places.
Where Politicians Eat
To find out where Washington’s Democrats and Republicans eat, reporters “scoured” campaign reports for food-related receipts wherever they could find them. Establishing a $5,000 minimum for approximately 500 restaurants, they found 21,000 receipts that were worth $13 million.
The dots represent spending totals:
The McDonald’s dot represents the $35,900 of which the Trump campaign spent $31,000 (86%) from January 2023 to September 20, 2024. With Republicans spending 28 times as much as the Democrats at McDonald’s, the Big Mac takes on a whole new identity. Meanwhile, though, at a whopping $200,000, Chick-fil-A was another Republican favorite. Here the Republicans topped the Democrats by a multiple of 20.
Below, you can see the summary receipt statistics:
Republicans preferred fast food while the Democrats spent the most at the Panera. However, if we stick with fast casual, still their tastes diverge. For Republicans, it’s Shake Shack and Jimmy John’s while Democrats head for Sweetgreen.
And even their taste buds differ. Republicans like BBQ and steak. At the same time, the Democrats ordered Mexican, Spanish, and Chinese food.
Starbucks is the one place they all agree on.
Our Bottom Line: Monopolistic Competition
The Republican/Democratic divide proves the success of monopolistic competition. In monopolistically competitive markets, firms differentiate themselves with something distinctive. Although the market is composed of relatively small firms, and market entry and exit are relatively easy, the monopoly dimension makes each eatery special. And indeed, for Republicans, it is McDonald’s.
My sources and more: Thanks to The Washington Post for inspiring today’s post. And finally, do take a look at our past post on the connection between where we shop and how we vote.
