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- DARK HORSE, a compromise candidate selected as party nominee when a deadlock arises among leading candidates. The candidate is usually substantially colorless with respect to current issues, unidentified with party factions, and unobjectionable in his public and private life.
What does it mean to call someone a dark horse?
Definition of dark horse 1a: a usually little known contender (such as a racehorse) that makes an unexpectedly good showing. b: an entrant in a contest that is judged unlikely to succeed. 2: a political candidate unexpectedly nominated usually as a compromise between factions.
What is a dark horse candidate in politics?
A dark horse is a previously less known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might.
Who was the first dark horse candidate?
The First “Dark Horse” Presidential Candidate. Henry Clay ran against Polk for president and lost. James Polk went to the 1844 Democratic Convention supporting the presidential front-runner Van Buren. Polk wanted to be the vice president but became the presidential nominee by accident.
Is dark horse same as underdog?
An underdog in a sporting competition is a competitor that nobody thinks will win. A dark horse in sports is an unknown team, or a team with unknown strengths that goes on to surprise people by winning or doing better than everyone expected.
How do you become a dark horse?
A “dark horse” is defined as a candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds.
Is being called a dark horse good?
The saying dark horse usually means an unexpected winner. For example, a presidential candidate who comes from behind to surprise everyone by winning the election could be considered the dark horse.
Who supported James Polk?
James K. Polk was a seven-term U.S. Congressman, Speaker of the House, Governor of Tennessee, and the 11th President of the United States. He was a Jacksonian Democrat, a faithful supporter of his friend and mentor, Andrew Jackson.
What does the phrase lame duck mean?
In politics, a lame duck or outgoing politician is an elected official whose successor has already been elected or will be soon. An outgoing politician is often seen as having less influence with other politicians due to their limited time left in office.
How did President Polk feel about Manifest Destiny?
James Polk as President He was a champion of manifest destiny– the belief that the United States was fated to expand across the North American continent –and by the end of his four years in office, the nation extended, for the first time, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
What did 1844 Democrats supported?
As a national imperialist, he exhibited an unwavering support for Manifest Destiny, perceived as a non-sectional devotion to expansionism, whether slave-soil Texas or free-soil Oregon Territory. Polk argued that Texas and Oregon had always belonged to the United States by right.
What is the meaning of under dog?
Definition of underdog 1: a loser or predicted loser in a struggle or contest. 2: a victim of injustice or persecution.
Where does the term underdog come from?
In sports, it’s common to call the team that’s expected to lose in a game the underdog. This word was originally used in dogfighting around 1887, to refer to a dog defeated in a fight. A 1960s cartoon character named Underdog was an unlikely (and under-qualified) superhero dog.
dark horse
Often referred to as a “dark horse,” a candidate for public office for whom little is known or for whose expectations are low, but who goes on to win or prosper in spite of the odds is known as a “surprise winner.” The phrase “dark horse candidate” has been used in the context of presidential politics for some time now, despite the fact that there have been several examples of dark horse candidates who have gone on to win local, regional, state, or national government throughout history.
For example, according to a local Massachusetts reporter, “the attractiveness of the dark horse is similar to the American Dream: an unknown candidate, the little guy, overcomes enormous odds to steal a surprise win away from the hands of an establishment favorite.” Originally from horse racing, when it was used to describe a horse that was unknown to bettors and, as a result, difficult to handicap.
“A black horse which had never been dreamt of, and which the heedless St.
First recorded usage of the phrase in a political context dates back to 1831, when James K.
According to White House historians, Polk’s “dark horse” status was due to his unlikely nomination to a higher office in the first place:” When Whig opponents changed the “Who is James K.
Polk’s reputation as an obscure protégé of Andrew Jackson stood in stark contrast to his successful career as governor of Tennessee and speaker of the United States House of Representatives, which was widely publicized at the time of his death.
Hayes, who were considered dark horses at the time of their nominations, theWashington Post said that “James Garfield, Warren Harding, and John W.
- Harding was nominated during a 1920s smoke-fume convention, despite the fact that he had stated repeatedly that he had no interest in running for president. Ohio Gov. Hayes won the Republican nomination in 1876 on the seventh ballot
- Congressman Garfield, an Ohio Republican who was the last person to go directly from the House to the White House, won the 1880 GOP nomination on the 36th ballot
- And Seymour was nominated during a 1920s smoke-fume convention
Abraham Lincoln is frequently referred to as a dark horse, particularly in his case because he left politics only to return more than a decade later: “Even Abraham Lincoln, who had left politics entirely after serving a term in Congress in the late 1840s, but who would win the presidency in 1860, has been referred to as a dark horse candidate.” In recent history, candidates like as Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump have all been characterized as “dark horses.”
Dark Horse Candidates Have Raucous Roots in 19th Century Politics
A dark horse candidate was a term invented in the nineteenth century to refer to a candidate who was nominated by a political party’s nominating convention after being nominated by numerous ballots. The phrase has persisted beyond its early beginnings and is still occasionally used in the present age, which is a testament to its longevity. A dark horse candidate in American politics was James K.
Polk, who became the Democratic Party’s nominee in 1844 after delegates voted numerous times and the expected favorites, including former president Martin Van Buren, were unable to win. Polk was the first dark horse candidate in American politics.
The Origin of the Term “Dark Horse”
The word “black horse” comes from the world of horse racing, in fact. The most reliable reason for the phrase is that trainers and jockeys would occasionally make an effort to keep a highly fast horse hidden from the public’s gaze. They could enter the horse in a race and make bets on it at extremely advantageous odds since they had trained it “in the dark.” If the horse won, the payment on the bet would be maximized as a result. A dark horse which had never been thought of before rushed past the grandstand in sweeping victory, according to the novelist Benjamin Disraeli, who would go on to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
James K. Polk, The First Dark Horse Candidate
When James K. Polk emerged from relative obscurity to become the Democratic Party’s nominee at its convention in 1844, he was dubbed “the first dark horse candidate to receive a party nomination.” Polk, who had served 14 years in the House of Representatives from Tennessee, including a two-year term as Speaker of the House, was not even expected to be nominated at the convention in Baltimore, which took place in late May of that year.
- Martin Van Buren, who had served one term as president in the late 1830s before losing the 1840 election to the Whig candidate, William Henry Harrison, was widely expected to be nominated as the Democratic presidential nominee.
- Neither man was able to garner the two-thirds majority needed to secure the nomination for president.
- Polk received 44 votes, Van Buren received 104 votes, and Cass received 114 votes.
- Polk was nominated after receiving support from other state delegations.
The Dark Horse Polk Caused Outrage
The convention chose Silas Wright, a senator from New York, as the vice presidential candidate the next day, the day after Polk was nominated for president. The inventor of the telegraph, Samuel F.B. Morse, had connected wire from a convention hall in Baltimore to the Capitol in Washington, which was 40 miles distant, as part of a test of a new invention. When Silas Wright was nominated, the news was broadcast to the whole Capitol building at once. Wright was enraged when he first heard about it.
Wright’s message was received by the convention, but it was not taken seriously.
Wright ultimately despatched two congressmen in a cart to Baltimore to inform the convention that he would not accept the nomination as vice president. Wright was defeated in the election. Georgia Governor George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania ended up becoming Polk’s running partner in the election.
The Dark Horse Candidate Was Mocked, But Won the Election
The convention chose Silas Wright, a senator from New York, as the vice presidential candidate the next day, the day after Polk was nominated as president. The inventor of the telegraph, Samuel F.B. Morse, had connected wire from a convention hall in Baltimore to the Capitol in Washington, which was 40 miles distant, as part of a test of a newly invented innovation. It was broadcast across the Capitol after Silas Wright was selected. Wright became enraged when he heard this. The candidacy of Polk, who was a close associate of Van Buren’s, was regarded a terrible insult and treachery by him, and he directed the telegraph operator in the Capitol to send back a telegram declining the nomination.
The exchange of four communications between Wright and the convention began after a request for confirmation was made.
Ultimately, George M.
Dark horse – Wikipedia
Unknown person or object who rises to prominence in a situation, particularly a competition involving multiple competitors, or a contender who appears on paper to be unlikely to succeed but who still succeeds, is known as a dark horse.
Origin
The word originated in horse racing vernacular to describe a race horse that is unfamiliar to gamblers and hence difficult to predict the outcome of. It is believed that Benjamin Disraeli’s novel The Young Duke was the first to make reference to the subject (1831). The Duke of St. James, Disraeli’s central character, witnesses a horse race that finishes in a surprise: “A black horse which had never been conceived of, and which the inattentive St. James had never even seen in the list, swept past the grandstand in sweeping triumph.”
Politics
Iran, the Philippines, Russia, Egypt, Finland, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States are among the nations where the notion has been applied in political situations. Politically, the term first appeared in the United States in the nineteenth century, when it was attributed to James K. Polk, a relatively unknownTennesseepolitician who defeated a field of more well-known contenders to win the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 1844. Polk was elected president of the United States on the ninth vote of this party’s national nominating convention, and he was the country’s eleventh president.
- The following presidents were elected: Franklin Pierce, who was nominated as the Democratic nominee and later elected the fourteenth president in 1852
- Abraham Lincoln, who was nominated as the Republican nominee and later elected the sixteenth president in 1860
- Rutherford B. Hayes, who was nominated as the nineteenth president in 1876
- James A. Garfield, who was nominated as the twentieth president in 1880
- Warren G. Harding, who was nominated as the twenty-ninth president Truman was widely regarded as a lame duck President with little chance of defeating Republican nominee and New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey in the 1948 United States presidential election, which is widely regarded as one of the biggest upsets in American history
- Jimmy Carter, former Governor of Georgia, was elected the thirty-ninth President of the United States in 1976
- At the beginning of that same year, Carter was relatively unknown outside his home state of Georgia
- And Ronald Reagan, former Governor of Virginia, was elected the thirty-n Carter made a joke of his obscurity when he addressed the Democratic National Convention in 1976, saying, “My name is Jimmy Carter, and I’m running for President.”
- Barack Obama, the Junior Senator from Illinois, who had captivated the Democratic National Convention on behalf of John Kerry in 2004, was still relatively unknown to the American people when he entered the Democratic Party presidential primaries in 2008, but emerged from obscurity to narrowly edge out the heavily favored Hillary Clinton. The nation’s first African-American president, Barack Obama, would be elected president
- Donald Trump, a real estate investor and reality television personality, would defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the general election despite losing the popular vote by more than 3 million votes
- And Trump has never held a political office prior to becoming president, but he had been running for president or expressing interest in running since 1999.
Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are among the most renowned unsuccessful dark horse presidential candidates in American history. William Jennings Bryan, a three-term congressman from Nebraskawho was nominated on the fifth ballot after impressing the 1896 Democratic National Conventionwith his famousCross of Gold speech (Bryan would go on to receive the Democratic presidential nomination twice more and serve as Secretary of State), and Republican businessmanWendell Willkie, who was nominated on the sixth ballot at the1940 Republican National Conventiondespite having never previously held elected office.
William Jennings Bryan was nominated on the fifth ballot after impress The United States Senator Bernie Sandersis another classic example of a dark horse candidate, whose grassroots campaign in the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primariescame much closer than initially anticipated to dethroning front-runner Hillary Clinton for the party’s presidential nomination.
Sanders is a member of the Democratic Party. Outside of the United States, the designation of “black horse” has also been given to:
- In Peru, Alberto Fujimori was elected president in 1990, despite the fact that he was mostly unknown before the election campaign. He finally defeated his opponent, Mario Vargas Llosa, who had been polling well ahead of him. It would be replicated in the 2021 Peruvian general election, when Pedro Castillo, a previously unknown elementary school teacher, would win the presidential race in the first round and ultimately in the Runoff. Several countries have elected presidents as dark horses, including Nigeria, where Goodluck Jonathan was the first president from the historically marginalizedNiger Deltaregion, and Finland, where Lauri Kristian Relander was elected president as a dark horse in 1925, despite his party naming him as its candidate only a few months before the election. The possibility of a dark horse presidency in Finland persisted and was occasionally speculated about until the country’s electoral system was changed to a direct personal vote in 1987
- Several government ministers, including Olga Golodets, Vladimir Medinsky, and Alexander Novak, who were appointed to the third cabinet of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on May 21, 2012, were also described as “dark horses” because they lacked experience, including Vladimir Medinsky and Alexander Novak. Dark horses have been described as candidates for the presidency of Iran in 2013, including Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Mohsen Rezai, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Muhammad Saeedikia, and Mohammad Gharazi
- In the United Kingdom, Jeremy Corbyn won the 2015 Labour Party leadership election despite failing to secure enough nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party to stand as a candidate
- And in Germany, government leaders were initially not expected to run for the presidency (1867-1918). Dark horse candidates were prevalent during the Weimar Republic (1919-1933)
- Franz von Papen, a backbencher, and general Kurt von Schleicher, a general, were examples of such candidates. The most prominent person in the country was retired general and World War I leader Paul von Hindenburg, who was elected president in 1925 despite the fact that he did not even participate in the first round of the presidential election. Dark horse candidates are uncommon in the Federal Republic (which has existed since 1949). Martin Schulz, a former president of the European Parliament who also served as mayor of a small town, is perhaps the most noteworthy example. Although he had a brief boost in popularity, his bid for the chancellorship in the 2017 federal parliament elections was unsuccessful. It has long been predicted that the Green Party, led by Annalena Baerbockor, and the CDU/CSU, led by Armin Laschet, would come top in the polls and/or be able to elect their respective candidates to the position of chancellor in the 2021 German federal election. Olaf Scholz, head of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, who had himself lost his party’s leadership election to Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjan, was a candidate for the position. Since December 2019, the winners of that contest, who were also referred to as “Dark horses,” have risen to first place in the polls and ultimately led his party to the most seats in the Bundestag
- In Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, then-President of the National Assembly and almost unknown in the Venezuelan political scene, proclaimed himself acting president of the country in January 2019 and subsequently appeared before the country’s parliament
- In Germany, Angela Merkel, long considered a viable candidate for the chancellorship, A reporter for the Washington Post described him as “an inadvertent leader.”
Use in music, television, and film
Dark horses are sometimes referred to as nominations for prestigious awards such as the Academy Award (given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) that are unexpected or unlikely to be nominated. Because of his increasing prominence as a songwriter and performer later in The Beatles’ career, notably on Abbey Road, guitarist and singer-songwriterGeorge Harrison was termed the “dark horse” of the band. Harrison went on to establish his own record company, Dark Horse Records, and to release an album and a single titled “Dark Horse” under that name.
The 24th chapter in Mark Helprin’s novelWinter’s Taleis titled ‘White Horse and Dark Horse,’ and it refers to the figure of Praeger de Pinto, who is running for Mayor of New York City and is considered an outlier candidate.
Katy Perry released her fourth studio album, Prism, in 2013, which included the song “Dark Horse,” which was written by her.
Use in sport
In sports, the word has been used to describe teams and players who have excelled their expectations in a competition when they were not expecting it. A few examples are theLos Angeles Kingsduring the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs (who finished first despite having an 8th-seed entry into the playoffs; they were the first and only team in history to accomplish this feat) and Croatiaduring the 2018 FIFA World Cup (who placed 2nd despite being ranked 20th in theFIFA World Rankings).
See also
- “A dark horse,” according to The Phrase Finder
- “Dark horse,” according to Merriam Webster
- And “Origins of Sayings – A Dark Horse,” according to The Phrase Finder. “Who Will Be Iran’s Next President?” is a question in the Trivia Library. Radio Free Liberty broadcast on January 6, 2013. “Invest in the Philippines, the ‘Dark Horse’ of Asia,” according to a news article published on April 19, 2013. The 17th of November, 2011, according to CNBC. Tikhomirov, Vladimir (2013-05-23)
- Archived from the original on 2013-05-23
- (22 May 2012). “Putin appoints technocrats to his Cabinet.” Equity. retrieved on the 28th of March, 2013
- Osmo Jussila, Seppo Hentilä, and Jukka Nevakivi are among those who have contributed to this work (1999). From a Grand Duchy to a Modern State: A Political History of Finland Since 1809 is a political history of Finland since 1809. Limited Liability Company (C. HurstCo (Publishers) Ltd)
- The Dark Horse Report’s “About” page provides further information. abGauja, Anika (February 2016)
- Retrieved on February 18, 2016. (2017). Party Reform: The Causes, Difficulties, and Consequences of Organizational Change is a book about party reform. “Peru election: Socialist Pedro Castillo declares victory ahead of official results,” Oxford University Press, p. 184, ISBN 978-0-19-871716-4
- “Peru election: Socialist Pedro Castillo claims victory ahead of official results,” Oxford University Press, p. 184, ISBN 978-0-19-871716-4 “Profiles: Iran’s presidential hopefuls” will be published on June 16, 2021. Al Jazeera English, June 11, 2011. retrieved on June 16, 2013
- Andrew Whitaker is a writer who lives in the United Kingdom (15 July 2015). “Andrew Whitaker: Don’t count out a Labour dark horse”, according to the Scotsman website. Celebrate as Jeremy Corbyn is elected Labour leader by an overwhelming margin, according to a report from the BBC on September 14th, 2015. Green Left Weekly, published on September 13, 2015. Retrieved on September 14, 2015
- “Juan Guaidó, the unknown whose identity has now been revealed to the whole country of Venezuela.” The Nation, the Nation’s Group (in Spanish). Retrieved2020-12-26
- s^ Ana Vanessa Herrero and Nicholas Casey are the authors of this work (2019-01-22). In 2019, the book “How Juan Guaidó rose from being almost unknown to leading Venezuela’s opposition” will be published. Journal of the New York Times (ISSN 0362-4331). Retrieved2020-12-26
- s^ Rachelle Krygier, Mary Beth Sheridan, and Anne Gearan are among those who have contributed to this work. “How Juan Guaidó became the unwitting face of Venezuela’s revolt” is a book on how Juan Guaidó became the unwitting face of Venezuela’s uprising. Issn:0190-8286 The Washington Post. Retrieved2020-12-26
- s^ A serious chance for Croatia to win the World Cup, according to S. I. Staff (retrieved on 2021-07-04)
- Aleksandar, you’re a jerk. Croatia is emerging as a World Cup dark horse, according to a recent article in the New York Times. According to Bleacher Report, the date is 2021-07-04.
Definition of Dark Horse Candidate
In the realm of politics, a “dark horse candidate” is a person who is unsung at the start of a campaign but who goes on to achieve surprising success later in the campaign. A “dark horse candidate,” as the term implies, is a contender who is unknown to the general public at the start of a campaign. Some people favor the dark horse candidate, but the bulk of the public is more interested in other candidates, hence they are often neglected by the majority of the population. It is possible that the “black horse contender” would catch everyone by surprise and attain a degree of success that was not anticipated from the beginning.
In this case, the candidate qualifies as a “dark horse” since he or she was unknown at the outset of the campaign but went on to achieve unanticipated levels of success.
-Davemanuel.com Articles that include the phrase In spite of the early turmoil, Donald Trump is still 6/4 to win re-election in 2020, according to the oddsmakers. On Tuesday, “The Donald” is expected to announce his candidacy for the presidency and his $9 billion net worth.
Washingtonpost.com: Political Junkie
| Help Wanted: Dark-Horse CandidatesBy Ken RudinSpecial to washingtonpost.comFriday, June 18, 1999Question:I can only locate two true dark-horse presidential candidates, James Polk and Franklin Pierce, and both were pre-Civil War. Were there any deadlocked conventions since then that turned to a dark-horse candidate?– Mark Rost, San Jose, Calif. Answer:In the old days, a presidential candidate needed to win two-thirds of the convention delegates (instead of a simple majority) to capture his party’s nomination. This often led to multi-ballot conventions, which resulted in the nomination of dark-horse candidates. At the 1844 Democratic convention, former president Martin Van Buren had a majority of delegates after the first ballot, but not enough to claim the nomination over Lewis Cass, the former secretary of war and ex-minister to France. By the seventh ballot, Cass took the lead. With the convention headed towards a stalemate, James K. Polk’s name was proposed. Polk, the former governor of Tennessee, was deemed acceptable by both sides and won the nomination on the ninth ballot. He went on to win the presidency that year.At the 1852 Democratic convention, Cass – by this time a senator from Michigan – was the early frontrunner. James Buchanan, who was President Polk’s secretary of state, William Marcy of New York and Sen. Stephen Douglas of Illinois were also contenders for the nomination. Cass held the lead after 20 ballots, and then Buchanan moved in front. On the 35th ballot the name of Franklin Pierce was added to the mix. Pierce, a former senator and congressman from New Hampshire, was hardly a known commodity. But that was probably to his benefit. Gradually the other contenders lost ground, and Pierce won the nomination on the 49th ballot. He too was elected president. The other nominees who began as dark-horse candidates were Horatio Seymour, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Warren Harding and John W. Davis. Of the five, Hayes, Garfield and Harding were elected president. |
- Seymour, the former governor of New York, stated repeatedly that he had no desire to be a presidential candidate, but he was nonetheless nominated by the Democratic Party at the 1868 convention on the 22nd ballot
- Ohio Gov. Hayes won the Republican nomination in 1876 on the seventh ballot
- Congressman Garfield, an Ohio Republican who was the last person to go directly from the House to the White House, won the 1880 GOP nomination on the 36th ballot
- And Congressman Garfield, an Ohio Republican On the tenth ballot, Harding was selected by Republican leaders during a smoke-filled room conference in 1920
- Harding was nominated on the tenth ballot. The Democratic National Convention in 1924 was the longest in American history, lasting 103 ballots and 17 days before finally electing former West Virginia congressman Davis as the party’s nominee.
Definition of DARK HORSE
The Democrat from Utah has gone from being a dark horse to being the front-runner in the race for the White House in the last few months. The film is considered a dark horse for the award. His background is murky, although I did learn that he was a professional football player at one point. The Tigers are on the schedule, and LSU has a lengthy history with him and his family, so the Tigers may be able to maintain their status as an adversity. Recent Examples on the Web • Mark Heim | [email protected],al on October 19, 2021 Riley, who has emerged as a dark horse most valuable player contender this season, hit a solo home run in the fourth inning on Saturday to tie the Braves’ first National League Championship Series game at home in 20 years.
- That status has accompanied the program into the playoffs, where the ‘Cats have been a dark horse in four of the previous five bowl games.
- The Sicilian Classico ($8.50), which is the menu’s dark horse and a salute to Italians worldwide, is a wacky-looking mix of Italian sausage, mozzarella, marinara sauce, Parmesan, oregano, and black olive slices.
- —Scottie Andrew, CNN, November 25, 2021 Three All-Big Ten big men, a dark horse candidate for conference player of the year in Jaden Ivey, and numerous outstanding recruits to augment an already lethal frontcourt round out the roster.
- —Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, published on October 8, 2021.
—Chris Walton, Forbes, December 28th, 2021 Examples of the term “dark horse” were compiled automatically from multiple online news sources to represent current usage of the phrase “dark horse.” It is not the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors that the viewpoints stated in the examples are correct.
Dark Horse
Galeviews was last updated on May 17, 2018. A DARK HORSE is a compromise candidate who is picked as the party’s nominee when there is an impasse among top contenders. The candidate is often mostly colorless when it comes to contemporary concerns, unaffiliated with any political party groups, and unobjectionable in both his public and private lives. When Martin Van Buren, the presumed Democratic nominee, made himself unpopular among many members of his own party by arguing against the speedy annexation of Texas, James K.
Franklin Pierce followed in the footsteps of the black horse tradition in 1852. Other recent instances of “dark horses” include James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, and Warren G. Harding, all of whom were elected president.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Doenecke, Justus D., ed., The Presidencies of James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. The Regents Press of Kansas published this book in 1981. Larry Gara is the author of this work. Franklin Pierce was elected to the Presidency. The University Press of Kansas published this book in 1991. Sam W. Haynes and the Expansionist Impulse: James K. Polk and the Expansionist Impulse. Longman Publishing Group, New York, 1997. W. B. Hatcher/ a. e. W. B. Hatcher/ a.
- See also Presidential Elections; Political Parties; President of the United States.
- 2.a opponent or candidate who is considered to have little chance of winning, or who wins in spite of popular opinion.
- In order to avoid further punishment, she is sent to perform community service at a horse farm, where she finds herself responsible for the care of a prize-winning horse.
- Donovan Leitch and Samantha Eggar star alongside Ari Meyers and Mimi Rogers in this drama directed by David Hemmings.
Dark Horse Candidates
Long-shot candidates for the presidency.
Cacareco
- Campaign: Cacareco, a four-year-old female black rhinoceros on loan from the Rio de Janeiro Zoo, received more than 100,000 write-in votes for a seat on the city council, more than ten times the number of votes received by the most successful human candidate. Despite the fact that election officials prevented Cacareco from assuming office, Brazilians continue to refer to the name Voto Cacareco as a slang word for a protest vote
- And
The Honorable Pulvapies
- Ad campaign and leaflet distribution: In the run-up to a mayoral election, the foot-powder business Pulvapies sponsored an ad campaign and handed out flyers backing the Honorable Pulvapies, a cartoon foot dressed in a suit. According to a contemporaneous wire report, the town’s population of roughly four thousand people chose Pulvapies mayor “by a large majority” in the election.
Pigasus
- Pigasus, a 145-pound pig named Pigasus, was announced as the presidential candidate of the Youth International Party (also known as the Yippies), which was camping outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago at the time. However, after he and several of his followers were arrested for unruly behavior, Pigasus’ campaign came to a grinding halt, and in order to compete with Nixon’s inauguration five months later, the Yippies gave him an honorary in-hog-uration.
Dustin the Turkey
- Campaign: Dustin the Turkey, a singing puppet, arrived on the Irish television network RTÉ to declare his candidacy for the Irish Parliament as a representative of the Poultry Party. In the end, Dustin’s name did not appear on the ballot. He blamed this on corruption and fear among those in power in his home state of New York. Dustin went on to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, where he made it to the quarterfinal stage.
Clay Henry
- Locals chose a goat called Clay Henry to represent them in their opposition to a Houston businessman’s ambition to become mayor of their little town (population: 50). As a result, Henry spent the most of his time the office guzzling Lone Star beer. Immediately upon the goat’s death in the early 1990s, the municipality transformed the role of mayor into a position of hereditary appointment. Since then, the position has been held by Henry’s son, grandson, and great-grandson.
Barsik
- A new mayor was appointed in the Siberian city after a series of corruption charges were brought to the attention of the regional governor and the local council. Unofficial online poll to propose a mayor was put up by residents who wanted to show their dissatisfaction with being locked out of the decision-making process. Result: A Scottish Fold called Barsik overcame six human competitors with more than 91 percent of the vote. The following year, Barsik revealed on social media that he intended to run against Vladimir Putin in the next presidential election.
Why was Polk called the “dark horse” candidate? – The Handy Presidents Answer Book
In 1844, James K. Polk did not appear on anyone’s radar as a potential candidate to become the next president of the United States of America. He had just been defeated in two consecutive campaigns for the governorship of Tennessee. No one could have predicted that a candidate who could not win his own state would go on to win the presidency. Former President Martin Van Buren was also the Democratic Party’s front-runner in the 1844 convention, which took place in Philadelphia. The annexation of Texas, which would have brought the state into the Union, was opposed by both Van Buren and Whig nominee Henry Clay, who made a significant miscalculation by publicly opposing it.
President Andrew Jackson recognized a chance for his protégé and, with the assistance of other influential politicians, was able to get Polk placed on a later ballot at the Democratic National Convention.
In the end, it was James K.