A few weeks ago, neighborhoods were filled with kids dressed as superheroes, villains, and other colorful costumes. In my house, my daughter dressed up as queen Elsa, singing “let it go” at the top of her lungs down the neighborhood sidewalk, and my son was Olaf. (For those of you without young kids, those are characters from the Disney movie, Frozen). However, sprinkled in between the princesses and Spiderman’s you probably saw a host of political figures such as President Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Rosie the Riveter, or perhaps a Ruth Bader Ginsberg costume.

In 2017, political costumes were the 11^th most popular costume behind favorites like zombies, pirates, and witches. Arielle Dollinger from Vice looked into the phenomenon of political costumes. She talked about political costumes with the National Retail Federation who said, “Americans often make costume choices based on entertainment and Trump’s administration has not-so-subtle seeped into the entertainment realm. With Trump and his cohorts so prominently featured on Saturday Night Live and weeknight talk shows, it is not surprising that political costumes have held their spot on the ladder.” Dr. David Doherty, a political science professor at Loyola who studies American politics and political behavior, said he believes increased partisanship — bias in favor of a particular political party — might be the cause of people dressing up as presidential candidates.

I wouldn’t be surprised that as you greeted trick-or-treaters at your door this year you saw a few political costumes. As we head into a presidential election year there certainly was a plethora of options to choose from.

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