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YONKERS, N.Y. Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are sure to make plenty of appearances in Yonkers this October.
The presidential candidates are among this years most popular Halloween costumes, joining a list filled with Olympic athletes and superheroes, according to a recent survey.
With nearly one in 10 celebrants taking their costume cues from current events, well see plenty of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney look-alikes out-and-about for Halloween, Pam Goodfellow, survey coordinator and BIGinsight Consumer Insights director, said in a statement.
Nationwide, seven out of 10 Americans plan to dress the part for the spooky holiday. As for the most popular costume pick - witches took the top spot for adults with an estimated 6 million people expected to ride their brooms and don a pointy hat.
An additional 1 million people are expected to dress as an athlete, a nod to the recent Summer Olympics, surveyors speculate. For children, princesses came in at No. 1 on the list followed closely by a pair of superheroes Batman and Spiderman.
In Yonkers, many shoppers getting a head start on their holiday costume shopping Monday said they spared no expense when it came to finding the perfect holiday costume.
Inside the Cross County Mall, Rachel Bianchi said she was going to avoid the political craze, opting to stay away from Obama or Romney masks. Bianchi said she didnt know what she was looking for just yet but it had to be something special.
"Im trying to find something good, something different, she said. I want to be something more unique."
After picking up a pair of white fangs, Daniel Castillo said he was planning on heading out as a vampire No. 2 on the survey's most popular costume for adults.
Its classic, he said. Why mess with a good thing?
But party-goers aren't the only ones counting down the days until Oct. 31.
Retailers are cashing in on the holiday, with the average American set to spend nearly $80 on decorations, costumes and candy for a total of $8 billion, the National Retail Federation survey reports.
And stores are well-prepared for the Halloween rush that is expected to pick up in the coming days, said retail federation CEO Matthew Shay.
With many families on the hunt for adult, child and pet costumes this year, retailers are making sure theyve got their shelves fully stocked with a wide variety of costumes, including the traditional and even the not-so-traditional garbs inspired by Hollywood and even pop-culture, he said in a statement.
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