Fall colors: Why some candidates aren’t using red, white and blue on their signs

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When Morgan Griffith was 9 years old, someone left a political bumper sticker in his yard in Salem.

It was for O.S. Foster, then running for sheriff of Roanoke County. 

That Foster bumper sticker became the first item in what accumulated into an entire collection of political paraphernalia. “As I grew older, and got interested in politics and law, that one stuck out at me,” Griffith says. 

It wasn’t just that Foster was, like Griffith, a Republican and quite a successful one. The Foster bumper sticker stood out on Griffith’s wall because it had an unusual color scheme: Orange and blue.

“Somewhere I read that orange and blue are ‘power colors,’” Griffith says. “The reason is the eye can see them further.” When Griffith first ran for office in 1993 — a successful bid for the House of Delegates — one decision was easy. His colors would be orange and blue. More than three decades, and two different offices later (he’s now a congressman from the 9th District), Griffith’s color scheme has remained the same. “I’m branded as orange and blue,” he says. Sometimes the orange becomes a little more reddish depending on the ink the printer has available, but the goal is to stay close to orange. The only change in his signs over the years came when he ran for the House of Representatives and added mountains to signify Southwest Virginia — they are, of course, blue.

Griffith isn’t the only candidate this year using a blue-and-orange color scheme. So is Gloria Witt, the Democratic candidate for the 5th District U.S. House seat. She has a different rationale for her colors: “Blue and orange are often used to represent diversity or unity within diversity,” she said in an email. “For example, blue may symbolize loyalty or unity, while orange represents courage and individuality, combining to suggest that different perspectives or approaches can coexist harmoniously.”

Most campaign signs are some variation of red, white and blue. Increasingly, though, we’re seeing candidates who want to stand out in a crowded field of signs by adopting some other color scheme. As I’ve traveled around Southwest and Southside this campaign season, I’ve made a collection of unusual campaign signs and tried to talk to as many of the candidates as I could. I’ve found that many of the candidates have put a lot of thought into the design of their signs. Here’s some of what I’ve found (and, in a few cases, what others have shared with me). What follows is commentary based solely on design, not the candidates’ politics, which in the case of many local candidates, I simply don’t know. 

Yellow is the color of the year

I’ve noticed a lot of candidates this year are using yellow. “If you pull yellow into red, white and blue, then you’re dealing with all primary colors, so that’s a very bold” sign as a result, says Meaghan Dee, associate professor of graphic design at Virginia Tech. 

That’s exactly what Salem Mayor Renee Turk told me about why she’s using yellow on her sign: “The backstory to my sign is just that I have a background in advertising: I worked as an Account Executive and then a Regional Sales Manager for Your Community Phonebook. I have always felt that ads (or signs) with reverse color or solid dark backgrounds, with lighter writing plus the most important part popping out in a contrasting color seem to stand out more. Easier to distinguish from a real estate sign or other signs with white backgrounds. The most important thing for voters to remember is my name, so TURK in yellow — the only thing in yellow — would pop. I designed it with that in mind.”

LaNita Herlem, an independent candidate for Martinsville City Council, said she’s using yellow as her main color because she wanted to stand out. Also, she’s a Pittsburgh Steelers fan so went with yellow-and-black to match the team colors. As for the bee? That’s in honor of Martinsville being a “pollinator city,” she says.

For Ben Woods, a Democratic candidate for Roanoke City Council, yellow isn’t just a design choice, it’s a political choice. “My Dad, one of my grandfathers, and two brothers are/have been USW [United Steelworkers] members, another grandfather was a Teamster and UMWA [United Mine Workers of America] at different points in his life. My mother-in-law is a part of the Postal Workers Union (APWU) in Roanoke and still working. Any political campaign or movement I have ever been a part of had a drive of promoting rights for people to collectively bargain and organize. Blue and yellow is one of the thematic patterns that is historically used by the USW, AFL-CIO, and Teamsters, FDR used the same color scheme in his re-elects, and he has always been one of my favorite Presidents to study. It also doesn’t hurt that it is William Fleming’s colors either.” (For those not from Roanoke, William Fleming is one of the city’s two public high schools).

Kacey Cunningham, an independent candidate for Danville School Board, points out that her color is gold, not yellow. “I chose gold for my campaign color because it aligns with the qualities I want to convey as a candidate: success, wisdom, and a commitment to excellence. Gold suggests leadership, confidence, and the ability to bring valuable insights to the school board. Since I’m prioritizing mental health, community engagement, and transparency, gold also reflects my vision of elevating standards and creating a brighter future for students and families in Danville.”

Here are some other yellows I’ve seen. Bill Riddle, an independent candidate for Chatham Town Council, said, “There is no real story behind my color scheme. I like the yellow color and black goes well with it.”

Green: Calming and environmental 

The first candidate to become famous for using green as a campaign color was Jimmy Carter. There wasn’t any special message behind it. 

“We always had to be different since we didn’t have a lot of money and TV was our medium,” Carter’s media consultant Gerald Rafshoon once told CNN. “Starting with his successful campaign for governor and through his presidential campaigns, I decided to use green. Why? I liked green because it stood out from the traditional red, white and blue.” 

These days we see a lot more green. I’ve never seen a Republican use green, but I have seen lots of Democrats and independents use it.

April Watson, the Democratic candidate for Ward IV in Lynchburg, uses green against a backdrop of blue. She lists four reasons for her color choice, some related to design, some related to politics.

“I’m using green for a few reasons: 

“- Visibility: Green pops in a sea of red, white, and blue.

“- I wanted to do something different because I plan to be a different type of representative on council. I believe in pushing back against the status quo so I didn’t want my signs to be just like everyone else’s. It’s okay to rock the boat occasionally. 

“- I think green is calming, and I plan to dial things down.

“- Lastly: It’s my favorite color.”

Dee, the Virginia Tech graphic design professor, says Watson is right about green being a “calming” color. “It’s trying to evoke a particular feeling,” she says.

Terry McGuire, a Democratic candidate for Roanoke City Council, uses lots of green. “Green is my favorite color, and I thought it helped my signs stand out. It also felt appropriate given my commitment to supporting our parks, sustainability efforts, and outdoor recreation community.” For those not from Roanoke: That’s the Roanoke Star, aka the Mill Mountain Star, in his logo. It’s a civic icon. Hold that thought.

Of course, if your name is Green, you might be obligated to use that color.

Another “calming” color 

Amanda Winter, an independent (but Democratic-endorsed) candidate for Radford School Board, uses a shade I’ve not seen before, at least not in a campaign sign. She calls it a “blue-green shade” and says she chose it “very deliberately.” (I’ve found many candidates have put a lot of thought into their signs.)

“To me, blue-green embodies tranquility and peace — qualities I believe are essential in our schools,” she says. “As I reflect on why I’m running, it’s clear that every child deserves a safe and calm environment in which to learn and grow. Just as blue-green evokes a sense of serenity, I want our schools to be places where students feel secure and supported. Additionally, I chose a school bus as part of my campaign imagery. The school bus symbolizes consistency and reliability, transporting our future generations to knowledge and opportunity. It represents a commitment to education and the importance of nurturing every child’s potential. Together, the colors and symbols on my campaign signs reflect my vision for schools as safe havens, fostering an atmosphere where all children can thrive.”

Think pink

This campaign sign by Kelsey Marletta, an independent (but Democratic-endorsed) candidate for Radford School Board, checks off a lot of boxes. It’s pink, not your usual campaign color. It also works in the pawprint that references the city’s high school team, the Radford Bobcats. And, then, of course, there’s the apple motif often associated with teachers. “It actually took me a good week to decide on my sign color before I started creating the final product,” Marletta said by email. “With the presidential, senate and congressional races plus our own local races this election, I did not want to use to red or blue, and I feel that all too often it’s automatically associated with one political party or the other. I felt that green wouldn’t stand out in the summer or early fall and the same for orange and yellow. All of that being said, the pink seemed to be the best choice, as it is also a color that exudes energy and happiness, and I’ve worked hard to run my campaign on the beliefs of compassion and a deeper sense of collaboration within the community.”

Halloween colors 

Donald Norden, a reader in Arlington, sent me a photo of an unusual color scheme he’d seen — black and orange. The candidate is James “Vell” Rives, a candidate for the Arlington School Board. That’s well outside our usual coverage area, but I was curious about the sign. Here’s what Rives told me: “I first ran for School Board in Arlington in 2022. I chose black for the main color because no one else was using it, so I thought it would be different. The orange was meant to evoke the color of a School bus and also to be eye-catching. I’m running again this year, but this time with the endorsement of the Forward Party, whose main color is purple. So to tie my old and current campaigns together we’re using a mix of black/orange and black/purple signs. My kids like the black/orange/purple because it suggests Halloween. That was not my intention, but I don’t mind the association!”

That use of purple brings us to . . . .

The purple people

Maureen Belko, an independent candidate for Danville City Council, says her favorite color scheme is green and yellow “but that fades into grass.” So that was out. “I wanted something to stand out. I wanted something more feminine but pink was too on the nose.” So purple it was.

Barry Mayo, a member of Danville City Council, also uses purple. I didn’t hear back from him so I don’t know why, but I notice in his official photo he’s wearing a purple shirt and a purple tie.

I’ve seen one other purple sign this year, but it goes into the next category because . . . 

Some candidates use design to incorporate local symbols 

Joann Jeter, an independent candidate for the Staunton School Board, is another candidate who’s using purple. She also has an image of a flower pot in the background, which is a recognizable symbol in Staunton. “The story of my campaign sign is pretty simple. Belonging is important to me. Individuals thrive when they are recognized and valued for who they are and supported in reaching their potential. When I was working with the graphic designer of the sign (Phoebe West), we kept coming back to the theme of belonging as it related to student growth. Blues, pinks, and purples have always been favorites of mine and Phoebe turned the idea of growth into the flowers that appear on the sign. In Staunton, we have a giant ‘watering can’ and flower pot art pieces at one of the intersections near downtown. I loved that the flower pots, recognizable to Stauntonians, would be included on the campaign sign representing the growth of our students.”

Chris Faraldi, the Ward IV council member in Lynchburg (as well as vice mayor), has red signs — not unusual for Republicans. Faraldi, though, has the Lynchburg skyline in the background. “It’s subtle but enough to catch the eye on a walk. The idea was to highlight what was most distinguished about our city, and I do love downtown.” 

Faraldi had the concept but needed a graphic designer to execute it, so he reached out to what he called “an old fling of mine” who was a graphic designer. Not only did the design work, the couple rekindled their relationship — and were married last year. The design that his future wife, Rachel, came up with “is so unique that it does the trick, and it’s a secret treasure for me because … well, we’ve started our whole relationship over it in a way.”

Like many in his party, Joe Cobb, the Democratic candidate for mayor in Roanoke, uses green but has a lot of other things going on with his signs — including a different shape from most. “The story behind my sign is threefold: the background blueprint of the star symbolizes why the star was created as a symbol of the progressive spirit of the city of Roanoke and how we continue to progress forward as a city. The blue is for the Blue Ridge Mountains and the river, and the green is for Growth and the Greenway system. I wanted to tie in the natural assets of Roanoke into the sign. The vertical feature is designed to remind us to think of ourselves as always looking up and out into the horizon to see how we can make our city the best it can be.”

Speaking of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the western part of the state you’ll often see candidates incorporate those mountains into their designs. Here are three — from Phazhon Nash (Democratic candidate for Roanoke City Council), Ken Mitchell (Democratic candidate for the 6th District House seat) and Morgan Griffith (Republican candidate for the 9th District seat).

School colors and logos 

You’ll see some colors repeated here, but the rationale behind them is to use a school color. The most obvious one is … 

Chris Shelor, an independent candidate for sheriff in Salem, uses the Salem High School colors of maroon and gray.

Ben Buzzard, an independent (but Republican-endorsed) candidate for Radford School Board, uses the black-and-gold of the Radford High School Bobcats — complete with claw marks.

Stephanie Moon, an independent candidate for Roanoke mayor, uses yellow and blue — partly because they were her school colors at William Fleming High School. “My campaign team and I discussed various colors that reflected my personality and my character. The main color is blue, with hues of yellow and/or green. I mainly use the blue and yellow. These were also my high school colors. For me, the yellow represents happiness and joy, hope as well as vibrancy. It is like a ray of sunshine.”

Unusual typography

Some Republican signs pushing the party’s ticket put Senate candidate Hung Cao’s name in a military-looking font to highlight his military service. My personal favorite, though, is this one:

Paul Weishaar is an independent candidate for Chatham Town Council. “I’m not sure what the exact font is on my particular sign,” he says. “The back story is it’s almost a direct duplicate of my father’s campaign sign when he was running for the local city commission back home [in Abilene, Kansas]. I felt like it was a way for me to honor his service to my old community by using a similar sign for my own campaign. The reason for the red, white, and blue is due to my own service in the Army National Guard as well as the legacy of service through my own family history.” Weishaar says his father won, so he’s hoping this font might carry him to victory, too.

I’ve spotted at least two candidates with an “O” in their name who have used that as a place to put a checkmark. Evelyn Powers, an independent candidate for city council in Roanoke, said she asked her designer: “Can we do something to stand out?” The designer replied: “You’ve got the perfect name for it.”

Words, words, words

Candidates have to be careful about words on their signs. These are signs, not campaign manifestos. People driving by don’t have time to read too much, although people walking by in a neighborhood can. I did notice some that were noteworthy in other ways.

David Bowers, the Republican candidate for mayor in Roanoke, is in an unusual position. Should he emphasize his experience — 16 years as mayor in the past when he was a Democrat? Or should he push the change theme since he’s running against two sitting members of council, Cobb and Moon? In Bowers’ case, he can do both: “Experience … for a change.”

In Danville, city council candidate Shakeva Frazier has some signs in Spanish. Here’s what Eben Leigh, one of her campaign workers, told me on her behalf: “While Shakeva has been serving in the community, she has noticed that the Spanish-speaking population has been overlooked. In order to help break that disparity and have a connected community, Shakeva decided to have signage in Spanish. In addition to signs being in Spanish, Shakeva also has t-shirts and pamphlets translated into Spanish. Most importantly, Shakeva also has Mirla, a Spanish speaker, who translates Shakeva’s message at all of her campaign events. In order for us to have a connected community for all that need to be served, Shakeva strongly believed that having her campaign materials in Spanish was crucial in getting her message out to the entire community.”

Here are some other signs I’ve seen with unusual messages.

Presidential signs

These signs speak for themselves and convey two different vibes for two very different campaigns:

Cats are a popular theme on some signs for Kamala Harris.

This campaign sign spotted in Lexington references Jeff Bridges’ character in the movie “The Big Lebowski.” Courtesy of Tamara DuVall.

Lots of Trump signs use imagery from his attempted assassination.

And then there’s the Old West sheriff motif.

I saw this homemade sign in Giles County:

And then there’s this one that Cardinal’s political reporter, Elizabeth Beyer, spotted near Union Mills in Fluvanna County.

I assume that’s intended as a pro-Republican sign this year, but the beauty of it is that the sign-maker could sell those every election year to one side or another.

Have you seen an unusual campaign sign? I’d love to see it! You can share at news@cardinalnews.org. Please let me know where you saw it.