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Dan Weisz ran a campaign McHenry County Circuit Judge. Using coattail campaigning, he tried to tie support for the Presidential nominee to his own campaign citing the presidential candidates he supported, namely Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Weisz began Weisz & Michling in Woodstock, Illinois, in 1981 providing council and representation in multiple areas of law practice and served until his death 2005. He was never elected to office.

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In October of 1979, the United States allowed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, to enter the country for cancer treatment. This made Ruhollah Khomeini, the Grand Ayatollah of Iran and his people angry because the Shah was supposed to stand trial in Iran. In response, a group of college students took control of the American Embassy in Tehran with support from the Ayatollah and held 52 people hostage in what is known as the Iran hostage crisis. The crisis was resolved in January 1981 via the Algeria Declaration and the hostages were freed, but afterwards the relationship between Iran and the United States was damaged and the U.S. imposed sanctions against Iran.

White text and a horizontal red line with white stars on a blue background.

Anti-Nixonites for Nixon was a Richard M. Nixon advertisement for his 1972 U.S. presidential campaign against candidate George McGovern. The slogan was created to emphasize the distrust of McGovern by saying Nixon was a better choice, despite representing different values. One letter addressing the Democratic National Convention stated “the worst thing said about Nixon is that he cannot be trusted, which is true: he cannot be trusted to save this country. But one thing is certain: McGovern can destroy it.”

Photograph of Wendell Willkie with black text on a white background.

Wendell Willkie was a lawyer and business man who ran for President in 1940 as the Republican nominee. He lost the presidential race to Franklin D. Roosevelt who served four terms as President. Willkie was a WWI veteran who saw no action during the war and later served as the president of the Akron Bar Association after becoming a lawyer. He attempted to run for President again in 1944, but lost the nomination to Thomas Dewey.

Black text above and below an illustration of an atomic explosion mushroom cloud on a white background.

In the 1964 U.S. Presidential Election Lyndon B. Johnson ran for office on the Democratic ticket. His campaign slogan: “All the Way With LBJ” resonated with Americans due to Johnson’s amiable nature and take-charge attitude. However, during his term the Vietnam War, the increased expenditures from Johnson’s Great Society policies, and a slowdown of the economy led to many characterizing his actions as idealistic and impractical. This sentiment is captured in the artwork both mocking his famed slogan while depicting a mushroom cloud formed from detonation of a nuclear weapon to insinuate Johnson’s policies would lead to disaster for the United States.  

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Voters elected Democrat Jimmy Carter as the 39th United States President in 1976. His Vice President was U.S. Senator Walter Mondale from Minnesota. They captured 50.1 percent of the vote beating Republican candidate Gerald Ford and his running mate Bob Dole. Carter and Mondale remained in the White House until 1981 after losing the 1980 election to Republican Ronald Reagan and his running mate George H.W. Bush.

The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, or UAW, Region 10  was made up of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Montana, and North and South Dakota. Most of UAW Region 10’s membership was in Minnesota and Wisconsin’s automobile and agriculture industries. UAW was founded in 1935, and Region 10 formed in 1949 after Region 4 was split. Region 10 rejoined with Region 4 in 1992.

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“The White House Under New Management” is a bold and humorous piece of political memorabilia associated with presidential transitions. The messaging encourages political change, typically used to celebrate or call for a shift in leadership. Such buttons are especially common after elections where an incumbent is defeated or when control of the White House switches between political parties. Historical examples include Jimmy Carter’s 1976 win over Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan’s 1980 victory, Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, Barack Obama’s 2008 win, and Joe Biden’s 2020 election.

The phrase, borrowed from business signage, suggests a fresh start and a break from the previous administration, and is often used by supporters of the incoming president to signal hope for change. Buttons like this capture the public’s desire for new leadership and reflect the recurring cycles of American political sentiment.

Photograph of Ronald Reagan's head inside an illustration of the Sun with blue text on a yellow background.

Prior to running for the U.S. presidency, Ronald Reagan was the governor of California for two terms and served from 1967 to 1975. Pat Brown, the Democratic incumbent, tried to use Reagan’s career as an actor and lack of political experience against him. However, Reagan managed to win Californians over by promising to run the state more efficiently. In the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections, Reagan won more votes than his Democratic opponents and carried the state of California, though it was the last time a Republican presidential candidate would do so. Later in his life, Reagan retired to his home in Los Angeles when California was no longer regarded as “Reagan Country.”

Portrait of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale center on white background. Green stripe bordering the top edge with white text. White stripe with green border and green text on the bottom edge. Horizontal white stripe with green borders and black text across the lower center.

Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, ran for president of the United States with U.S. Senator Walter Mondale from Minnesota as his running mate in 1976. His campaign buttons and other materials were green and white. The green symbolized Carter’s agricultural experience as a peanut farmer. Voters elected Carter as the 39th president. He took 50.1 percent of the vote compared to Republican candidate Gerald Ford and his running mate Bob Dole who captured 48 percent of the vote. Carter and Mondale remained in the White House until 1981 after losing the 1980 election to Republican Ronald Reagan and his running mate George H.W. Bush. After losing the election, Carter returned to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, and his peanut farm.

Illustration of President Jimmy Carter in center with green text on both sides on white background. A green band with white text circles the edge of the button. The year is encircled by a wobbly oval. 

Jimmy Carter was the Democratic nominee for the United States Presidency in 1976. He won the popular vote at 50.1 percent beating Republican Gerald Ford. Carter served as the 39th president from 1977 to 1981.  However, in Illinois state in 1976, Ford won the popular vote with 50.1 percent, and in Kane County, Illinois, 62.2 percent of voters favored Ford while 35.7 percent of voters chose Carter. From 1856 to 2004, Kane County has voted for Republican candidates every election except for 1912 when the Republican Party nominated incumbent President William Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt ran under the Progressive Party he created. Kane County voted for Roosevelt at 64.3 percent. Since 2008 Kane County has voted for Democrats.