NEW YORK, Oct 06, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Past Three Presidential Election Outcomes Foreseen with Halloween Sales of Candidate Masks

As campaigns heat up between John McCain and Barack Obama, political strategists and commentators turn to poll results and anecdotes to predict who will win the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. What they should be relying on is the "Spirit Halloween Presidential Index."

In the past three elections, nationwide sales of U.S. Presidential candidate masks by Spirit Halloween revealed the winner days before general election results were in:

2004 Spirit Halloween Presidential Index

    John Kerry              35%
    George W. Bush          65% *

2000 Spirit Halloween Presidential Index

    George W. Bush          57% *
    Al Gore                 43%

1996 Spirit Halloween Presidential Index

    Bill Clinton            71% *
    Bob Dole                29%

The mask factor is good news for Obama so far. After the first month of Halloween 2008 Barack Obama and John McCain mask sales (August 30-October 3), the "Spirit Halloween Presidential Index" shows Obama is leading at 67%, while McCain has 33%. Of course, there is still a month until election day ...

"It's no coincidence that Presidential elections take place just days after Halloween, when the mask factor has its greatest impact," said Steven Silverstein, President and CEO, Spirit Halloween. "The Spirit Halloween Presidential Index is a remarkably consistent and accurate predictor of the next President. It's eerie."

On a state-by-state basis, the Index shows McCain is ahead only in Oklahoma. Arizona, Indiana, Kentucky, South Dakota and Vermont tied or undecided. In most states, Obama is currently in the lead by a wide margin.

Typically, the highest volume of mask sales are purchased in the last 1-2 weeks before Halloween. Each week, McCain has been slowly closing the gap between himself and Obama in terms of mask sales. This could come down to the wire! To find out who will be the 44th President of the United States, sign-up for weekly Spirit Halloween Presidential Index updates by emailing presidential@spirithalloween.com.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Spirit(R) Halloween -- the authority on Halloween -- has more than 600 locations in all major markets in 48 states.

About Spirit Halloween

Spirit Halloween ( www.spirithalloween.com) is the largest seasonal Halloween retailer in the country with more than 600 locations in strip centers and malls across the United States and online. The authority on all things Halloween, Spirit has offered one-stop shopping -- ranging from costumes to decor and party goods to accessories -- for the past 25 years. In addition to being a fun and interactive event for shoppers, Spirit stores offer complete selections of costumes and accessories for infants/toddlers, children, 'tweens, teens, adults, and even pets. At the heart of Spirit Halloween is the Spirit of Children program, which is devoted to bringing the fun, imagination and fantasy of Halloween to pediatric patients in hospitals and rehabilitation centers across the United States.

SOURCE Spirit Halloween

 http://www.spirithalloween.com