The October Surprise

There is a curious event in US Politics that is known as the October Surprise. This phrase is often connected to an event that occurs naturally, or can be set up designed to influence the outcome of an election in the US. It is called an October surprise as election day is in early November.

There have been numerous examples of an October surprise that political pundits have attempted to link to the outcome of a presidential election. Some memorable ones have been included below for you to include in exam answers.

2016: Wikileaks announced in October that they were released information about Hillary Clinton with accusations that she was lying. However, this release was overshadowed by an audio recording of Donald Trump making explicit comments about touching women without their consent as he was star.
RESULT: WHO KNOWS!

2012: Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast of the US. It made Obama look increasingly presidential and Romney a little stuck. Republican Governors came out to support the Obama administration in their response to the hurricane. Another event is Romney's comments that 47% of American's do not pay income tax and as such wouldn't vote for him.
Result: OBAMA VICTORY

2004: October 29th saw a video released by Osama bin Laden which declared that the security of the nation was in their own hands. Voters had the War on Terror placed back into their minds.
Result: BUSH VICTORY

2000: In the weeks before the election news broke that George W Bush was arrested in 1976 for a Drink Driving offence. Bush confirmed the accusation at a press conference.
Result: BUSH VICTORY

1992: Four days before the vote, Reagan's former defence secretary was implicated in the Iran Contra affair. His testimony linked President Bush to the events.
Result: CLINTON VICTORY

1980: Announcement by President Carter that hostages in Iran would not be released until after the election. Widely believed that the Reagan campaign negotiated this with Iran. Hostages were released shortly after Reagan's inauguration.
Result: REAGAN VICTORY