Dunkin’ is getting into the electoral spirit more than five months ahead of the U.S. presidential election with a campaign that turns selecting a favorite donut into a bit of a patriotic play. Dunkin’ is celebrating National Donut Day by introducing the six candidates in the Donut Party. “This year, for obvious reasons, we thought it would be fun to play into the election,” says Drayton Martin, VP of brand stewardship at Dunkin’. While brands may still be debating whether to play on political themes as the Nov. 3 general election looms, Dunkin’ is out with its election-themed campaign, which will only run through early June. Meanwhile, there is some more consequential voting set to occur, with primaries scheduled for June 2 in Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota and the District of Columbia. Dunkin’s effort, to be clear, is separate from any of the campaigning taking place in those races. Still, there are clear nods at real political races, including a 15-second spot that spoofs candidate debates. The two candidates—or as Dunkin’ calls them, canDOUGHdates—with speaking roles in the spot are chocolate frosted with sprinkles and glazed, who are two of the three female candidate characters. Dunkin’ insists it isn’t getting political. “We don’t pick sides, we’re on your side,” says Martin. The campaign idea came from Jones Knowles Ritchie. Arc Worlwide, also worked on the effort.  – Source: AdAge.