{"id":2351253,"date":"2024-10-06T07:14:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-06T11:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-biggest-october-surprises-that-helped-swing-elections-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-10-06T13:04:12","modified_gmt":"2024-10-06T17:04:12","slug":"the-biggest-october-surprises-that-helped-swing-elections-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-biggest-october-surprises-that-helped-swing-elections-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"The biggest October Surprises that helped swing elections &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-biggest-october-surprises-that-helped-swing-elections-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2351253&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The \u200darticle \u2063discusses the concept of &#8220;October surprises,&#8221; which are unexpected\u2062 events \u2063in politics that can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-election-poised-to-explode-due-to-raffenspergers-inaction\/\" title=\"Georgia Election Poised To Explode Due To Raffensperger&#039;s Inaction\">significantly impact election outcomes<\/a> \u2062just prior to voting. Originating in the 1980s, the term highlights \u200bhow such surprises can change candidates&#8217; \u200cprospects dramatically. <\/p>\n<p>Key\u200b historical\u2063 examples include:<\/p>\n<p>1. **1980**: President Jimmy Carter&#8217;s attempt \u2064to negotiate the release of American hostages from Iran was seen as a potential\u2063 October surprise that could boost his re-election chances. However,\u2063 the hostages were not\u2064 released until after the election, and speculation arose about\u2064 whether\u2064 Reagan&#8217;s \u200b<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-supporters-gather-near-mar-a-lago-to-support-former-president-after-indictment\/\" title=\"Trump Supporters Gather Near Mar-a-Lago to Support Former President After Indictment\">campaign struck<\/a> a secret deal with Iran to delay\u200d this.<\/p>\n<p>2. **Caspar Weinberger&#8217;s Indictment (1980)**:\u2062 Just before the election,\u2064 former Defense Secretary Weinberger was indicted in the Iran-Contra scandal, which negatively impacted George H.W. Bush&#8217;s \u2063campaign against Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n<p>3. **2016**: The release of a recording \u2062of Donald Trump making lewd comments combined with the revelation of damaging emails from Hillary Clinton&#8217;s campaign significantly altered the dynamics of the election, ultimately \u2063favoring Trump&#8217;s victory.<\/p>\n<p>4. **2020**: Just weeks before \u200bthe election, the New York Post published a story on Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop, which became a focal point of political controversy.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200bpiece underscores how these surprises have become critical moments in shaping the electoral landscape throughout history.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">The biggest October surprises that helped swing elections<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1738922\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3170794\/harris-trump-brace-october-surprise-could-upend-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"October Surprises\">October surprises<\/a> have become a staple of politics, with voters and viewers eagerly anticipating a revolutionary reveal that will change the dynamics of the election.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/798523\/are-hunter-bidens-emails-the-2020-october-surprise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"October Surprise\">October surprise<\/a> is any event that suddenly changes the dynamics of an election in the preceding month. It was coined in 1980, but October surprises have been happening since the 19th century.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the biggest October surprises in history:<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1980: Possible Iranian hostage release<\/h2>\n<p>In the event that brought the concept of an October surprise to the national lexicon, then-President Jimmy Carter had been trying to negotiate the release of 53 American hostages held by Iran since the previous November, a crisis that had severely damaged his presidency. By October, the Reagan campaign thought that the Carter administration may be close to striking a deal with Tehran. Reagan campaign manager William Casey warned that such a release would be an &ldquo;October surprise&rdquo; that could reverse Carter&rsquo;s fortunes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One of the hostages held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, is shown to the crowd by Iranian students on Nov. 8, 1979. (AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Such an October surprise <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-defector-emails-pipeline-to-obama-admin-seen-as-currency\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden Defector Emails: &#039;Pipeline&#039; to Obama Admin Seen as &#039;Currency&#039;\">didn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t happen, with Tehran opting to wait until after the election to release the hostages. Despite this, worry within Reagan&rsquo;s campaign was so high that it formed an extensive intelligence network to try and find signs that a deal had been struck, including the close monitoring of military air bases.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats have since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/op-eds\/2712121\/the-myth-of-reagans-october-surprise-dies-hard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"alleged\">alleged<\/a> that Reagan struck a secret deal with the Iranians to wade off an October Surprise.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Caspar Weinberger indictment in Iran-Contra scandal<\/h2>\n<p>Despite major foreign policy successes, including a crushing victory in the Gulf War and the fall of the Soviet Union, incumbent President George H.W. Bush was in a close race against Democratic candidate Bill Clinton and independent Ross Perot. His chances took a turn for the worse four days before the election when Caspar Weinberger, Reagan&rsquo;s defense secretary, was indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice during the Iran-Contra scandal.<\/p>\n<p>The indictment hurt Bush for several reasons, not least of which was that he served as the No. 2 official in the Reagan administration. The indictment cited a diary entry that contradicted a claim made by Bush, possibly implicating him in the scandal after he appeared to have put it behind him. Republicans were quick to raise an outcry over the timing of the indictment, arguing it was politically motivated.<\/p>\n<p>The scandal helped cost Bush the election, making him the first incumbent Republican to lose reelection since 1932.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2016: <em>Access Hollywood<\/em> tapes and Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s emails<\/h2>\n<p>October 2016 contained a slew of surprises that negatively affected candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.<\/p>\n<p>On Oct. 7, the <em>Washington Post<\/em> released a recording from a 2005 video of Trump making lewd comments about women to Billy Bush while on their way to film an episode of <em>Access Hollywood<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. &hellip; Grab them by the p****. You can do anything,&rdquo; Trump said.<\/p>\n<p>The remarks drew outrage from many, including some major Republicans, such as Sen. John McCain, who withdrew their support. Trump quickly apologized and dismissed the remarks as &ldquo;locker-room talk.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Almost simultaneously, WikiLeaks began publishing a string of emails obtained through another group hacking Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta&rsquo;s email account. The emails contained several damning revelations, including the apparent leaking of Democratic primary debate questions to her beforehand and the expression of some views that contradicted her public stance.<\/p>\n<p>Her fortunes were further tarnished by FBI head James Comey&rsquo;s announcement that he would reopen the investigation into Clinton&rsquo;s use of a private email server for business, reinvigorating allegations of corruption.<\/p>\n<p>While the scandals damaged each candidate, Clinton&rsquo;s October surprises helped prove instrumental in her defeat.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2020: Hunter Biden&rsquo;s laptop<\/h2>\n<p>Three weeks before the 2020 election, the <em>New York Post <\/em>published a paper with the cover &ldquo;Biden Secret Emails.&rdquo; In it, under the headline, &ldquo;Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad,&rdquo; an article cited data recovered from the first son&rsquo;s laptop holding that then-candidate Joe Biden lied about being unaware of his son&rsquo;s sketchy business activities.<\/p>\n<p>Several major social media outlets suppressed the story, ensuring it didn&rsquo;t gain too much ground before the election. The suppression of the story was decried by Republicans as election interference, possibly doing enough to swing the election in Biden&rsquo;s favor.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The scandal would go on to dog Joe Biden for his entire administration, with a House investigation launched into the corruption allegations. Republicans came close to impeaching him over the corruption allegations but stopped short. Congressional Republicans made the investigation into Hunter Biden the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2709416\/four-biggest-2023-hunter-biden-revelations-after-year-of-gop-investigations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"focal point\">focal point<\/a> of their agenda in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>After Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the 2024 race in July, focus on the laptop and allegations largely fizzled out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1738922\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1738922\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October surprises are pivotal events that can shift election dynamics, often occurring in the month before voting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2351255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/October-Surprise.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[6571,42434,32504],"class_list":["post-2351253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-elections","tag-october-surprises","tag-political-strategy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/October-Surprise.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2351253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2351255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2351253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2351253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2351253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}