LI Shop Looking To Accurately Predict Another President Through Cup Poll
EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- On Long Island, folks are turning to an unusual source to check the pulse of the presidential election.
As TV 10/55 Long Island Bureau Chief Richard Rose reported, a store is measuring the race by selling cups for the major candidates -- and they've got a pretty good track record.
Every day, small crowds gather outside The Monogram Shop, just off Main Street. They anxiously watch as store clerks change the daily count of plastic drinking cups being sold inside for the two major candidates -- Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"They do come in," said Anne Haring, a clerk at The Monogram Shop. "They come into the store if it's not updated."
The latest numbers posted in the window show Clinton ahead of Trump by more than 900 cups, a 4-to-3 advantage. One Clinton cup supporter said the plastic poll better be right or she has drastic plans should Trump pull an upset.
"Well, I will keep her cup for myself and move to Canada, whatever," Iris Abrons, of Water Mill, said with a laugh.
Off camera, some Trump supporters told us they're not surprised by the pro-Clinton results in the liberal-leaning Hamptons.
A visiting Trump supporter from Florida agreed.
"Especially this area," said Mitch Kunik, of Boca Raton. "So we're a little more conservative than this area here."
At one point, the two candidates were tied until Clinton began surging in mid-July.
Haring said there's no bias, though, pointing out the store's owner has successfully predicted three straight presidential elections from cup sales, including declaring Republican George W. Bush the victor in 2004.
"The shop has been open for 15 years, and she has been right every year," Haring said.
Meanwhile, a cocktail napkin offering voters the choice of none of the above proved so popular it completely sold out.
Count 21-year old Tatienne Hendricks, of Sagaponack, among the none-of-the-above crowd. She said she'll vote independent and wants cups added for the minor candidates.
"I really wish Bernie Sanders was back in the race pretty much," Hendricks said, laughing.
But store managers say at this late stage, it will be strictly Trump vs. Clinton in this counting cup clash.