Hartsburg's tattoo caught attention in the weeks before the election. | Courtesy Romney campaign's lasting mark

With the election over, supporters of Mitt Romney have to pack up their campaign signs and paraphernalia and get on with their lives.

But what if you can’t get rid of that stuff? Literally.


Eric Hartsburg caught some attention in the weeks leading up to the election for having the Romney campaign’s logo tattooed on his face.

( PHOTOS: 10 weirdest Romeny gifts on Etsy)

Suffice to say, he’s not happy with Tuesday’s results.

“Totally disappointed, man,” Hartsburg told POLITICO. “I’m the guy who has egg all over his face, but instead of egg, it’s a big Romney/Ryan tattoo. It’s there for life.”

Hartsburg’s tattoo covers a 5-by-2 inch space on the side of his face, and he did it after raising $5,000 on eBay for the effort. He didn’t even tell his wife he planned to get the tattoo until about an hour before.

“Right away, she was taken aback,” Hartsburg said, adding that his wife is also a Romney/Ryan supporter.

“My 15-year-old son, however, he was all about it.”

Hartsburg’s takeaway from the election is that “the Republican Party needs quite a bit of reform,” namely in the area of winning over young voters.

Hartsburg, 30, lives in Indiana and says he’s gotten plenty of flak from neighbors since Romney went down in defeat.

“I’ve gotten a lot of negative stuff, a lot of ‘F U’s,’” said Hartsburg. “It’s all kinds of ribbage, man. … ‘Your guy lost!’ ‘What are you going to do now?’” Fortunately, he cites his day job as a professional wrestler, so fighting off such opponents is not likely to be difficult.

But no regrets.

“I’m a tattoo guy, and it was something fun,” he said. “I was trying to make politics fun. I didn’t change no lives; I’m no hero. But I shed blood for this campaign, and I’m glad to know that I did all that I could.”

And perhaps there’s a silver lining for Hartsburg.

“I’m hoping this opens some other doors in the entertainment business,” he said.