Alcohol Helps Americans Survive A Long Election Night

Americans sat in their homes Tuesday, glued to their television and phone screens, anxiously awaiting the results of the 2020 election. With the pandemic spiking again, many people watched alone or with family, or even a bottle of wine.

Drizly, an alcohol delivery company, said its sales in the blue states it services jumped more than 75% on Election Day, compared with the average for the previous four Tuesdays. They included California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Oregon, Washington, Rhode Island, Illinois, New York, Vermont and Maryland (along with Washington, D.C.).

Meanwhile, sales in red states increased 33%. Those included Idaho, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and Wyoming. And sales grew about 55% in swing states (such as Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Texas).

Overall, the company said its sales were up about 68%, compared to the last four Tuesdays. That's about the same increase it saw in the 2016 election.

Bigger cities had larger spikes on Tuesday. In New York City and Washington, D.C., sales more than doubled. Sales soared 83% in Boston.

Drizly's Election Day sales broke down this way: wine, at about 42%; liquor at about 41%; and beer at about 15%. [Copyright 2020 NPR]