In part of swing state, neighbors skip presidential signs in heated campaign season

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- The lawn of Nick Hannawa's suburban Detroit home is lined with political signs backing candidates for prosecutor, supervisor and local trustee. But Hannawa isn't promoting his presidential pick.

He says he doesn't want the headaches in an polarized election year.

In this part of swing state Michigan, many of Hannawa's neighbors in upper-middle class and affluent neighborhoods have a similar attitude about a public display on behalf of their preferred presidential candidate. It's easier, they say, to opt out of this once-typical show of support outside their house.

“Some people love Donald Trump. Some people hate Donald Trump,” said Hannawa, 37. “I voted for Donald Trump. I’m going to vote for Donald Trump again. If I put that sign in my yard again, is it really going to make a difference or is someone not going to like me?”

Hannawa's home county of Oakland was a political battleground for years but flipped to Democrats in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. Republicans have not given up on the area, aiming to win back conservative voters one house at a time.

For years, urban areas have been heavily Democratic and rural areas vote overwhelmingly Republican, said David Dulio, director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University in Michigan. “And it’s always the suburbs where the campaigns really fight it out.”

For some residents, skipping yard signs is another symptom of weariness with the amped-up tension of American politics, particularly in the White House race between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Trump, the former president.

Putting out a sign can have an effect on neighborhood dynamics long past campaign season, said Anand Edward Sokhey, a political science professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and co-author of “Politics on Display: Yard Signs and the Politicization of Social Spaces.”

"They are very much a person signaling ‘This is me. This is who I am.’ And other people are reacting,” he said. “You may not always know that neighbor’s name, but you remember — for years — that house had a Trump sign, that house had a Harris sign.”

A recent survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts found that about 6 in 10 Americans say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued. In recent weeks, there have been isolated but startling instances of intimidation or violence tied to shows of support for a campaign.

Last month, a white suburban Detroit man, angry that he received Harris mailings, was charged with assault after he was accused of yelling obscenities and racial slurs and then threatening a Black postal carrier with a knife.

In Ohio, a Republican county sheriff posted on social media that people with Harris yard signs should have their addresses written down so immigrants can be sent to live with them. The post was removed after threat of legal action by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.

Many neighbors "have stated they’re afraid to put signs in their front lawns,” Edward Shehab, another Bloomfield Township resident, said. “People are kind of like ‘I know who I’m going to vote for, and I don’t need to tell people what we’re going to do.’”

Shehab, 64, has Trump-Vance yard signs outside his home this fall even though four years ago his signs backing Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence were stolen.

To Dulio, there's a noticeable lack of presidential yard signs this election year around the Detroit area.

“People just don’t want to — even Trump supporters — they just don’t want to hear it from their neighbors," Dulio added. "They don’t want to take the risk of somebody confronting them or tearing down their lawn sign or whatever might happen.”

Hannawa said that chance of conflict is why he's instead limiting his signs to local candidates.

“I don’t do the presidential politics (signs). There is so much tension around it,” Hannawa said. “I’m an attorney, and I have clients on all sides of the political field.”

Danny Watson lives about a mile or so from Shehab and doesn’t have any election signs in his Bloomfield Hills yard. The retired medical professional said he identifies as an independent but feels posting political leanings isn't good for business.

“It makes interactions with patients difficult," Watson said. “I didn’t want to offend either group of clients I would deal with.”

One of the four political signs in Jack Robertson’s yard in Madison Heights is a Trump sign. He's an outlier in the neighborhood several miles north of Detroit.

“A lot of people say, ‘I’m not putting a sign out. Neighbors down the street will get mad. They’ll do this or that,’" Robertson said. “So what? You have a right to do what you want to do. As long as you’re not hurting anybody in the process.”