| Democrats have also been teeing up entries in the shirt wars. A few months ago Pete Buttigieg was speaking at a rally in Iowa when a bee landed on his tie and wouldn't budge. Within hours his campaign was selling "Bee Like Pete" shirts. Another favorite among supporters of the South Bend, Ind., mayor is a shirt with his husband's image and the message: "Chasten for First Gentleman."
T-shirt capitalism got a major boost in 2016 from Sen. Bernie Sanders. His "Feel the Bern" shirt became a hit world-wide, and the distinctive "Bernie" logo even turned up in Paris fashion shows.
Most voters demand more than an empty shirt. The "Kamala Harris for the People" tee became popular when the California senator announced her candidacy. More recently she tried "That Little Girl Was Me," referring to her experience as a student bused for school integration, and a "Dude Gotta Go" shirt, referring to Mr. Trump. Now that she's abandoned her campaign, these shirts are collector's items.
Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke also didn't get very far with his presidential campaign, but he did raise eyebrows with a T-shirt saying "This is F—ed Up," printed six times down the front. It was a commentary about gun violence. Mr. O'Rourke's passion about the gun issue is undeniable; what struck some as odd was that he chose the T-shirt medium to convey his message.
Mr. Trump's online store has a variety of shirts, including the "If You Don't Like Trump Then You Probably Won't Like Me" model, along with the "Get Over It" tee and the new "Where's Hunter?"—a words-on-cotton effort to get Joe Biden's son before congressional investigators. For his part, the former vice president has fared poorly in the T-shirt primary. His strangest offering is a word-free shirt featuring three images of aviator-style sunglasses like the ones he favors.
Some political T-shirts try to capture the voice as well as the style of the candidate. "We Rise" is the best-seller for Sen. Cory Booker. At the other end of the spectrum is Mr. Sanders, who sells a no-nonsense shirt with the words "Medicare for All."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has produced more T-shirts in this campaign than any other candidate—83 at last count. One says, "Impolite Arrogant Women Make History." And of course the senator's go-to: "Warren Has a Plan for That."
The T-shirt likely favored by undecided voters is sold by Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. It carries the political hedge "Aloha, Y'all," meaning hello and goodbye.
As for Kamala Harris, she's left to say, "I ran for president and all I got was this T-shirt."
(c) Peter Funt. This column originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal.
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