VIGO COUNTY, INDIANA—When it comes to being a good indicator of voting for the winning presidential candidate, Vigo County in northwest Indiana is “The Real Thing.”
That was the advertising slogan Coca-Cola had in the 1970s, which perhaps is appropriate for what is considered the most reliable bellwether county in the United States.
The county seat of Vigo County is Terre Haute (pop. 60,673) and is the birthplace of the iconic contour Coca-Cola bottle that has been featured on many of the soft drink’s signs and ads since 1915.
Chapman Jay Root who owned the Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, and a team of his workers, designed the Coca-Cola contour bottle in 1915. The bottle is considered the most recognizable container in the world. Vigo County, where the bottle was designed, also is known as the most reliable bellwether county in the United States. (Michael Sakal/The Epoch Times)
Since 1888, Vigo County has missed voting for the presidential winner just three times—in 1910 when it supported Democrat William Jennings Bryan over Republican William Howard Taft, in 1952 when it picked Adlai Stevenson (D) over Dwight D. Eisenhower (R), and in 2020 when it selected Donald Trump (R) over Joe Biden (D), by 24,545 to 18,123 votes.
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