Samuel P. Goddard Papers

On the Campaign Trail

Campaign Slogans and Images

In his first campaign in 1962, Sam Goddard chose the roadrunner as his campaign symbol. While the roadrunner is the state bird of New Mexico, the Goddard campaign successfully appropriated the image for its own purposes. The roadrunner logo appeared in all four of Goddard's campaigns and became emblematic to the point that political cartoons often identified Goddard with the bird.

Go Goddard! -- the phrase that accompanied the roadrunner image -- was used to symbolize energy and movement towards change. In his second campaign in 1964, the image appeared in television commercials where the roadrunner sped across the screen and dropped the letters of the word Goddard. The roadrunner image and Go Goddard slogan also were used on a variety of campaign materials from pamphlets and letterhead to bumper stickers and trash bags. Click here to view an assortment of campaign ephemera.