Undertow Election
Conservative writer Ben Domenech coined the term “undertow election” in an October 30, 2012 article for Real Clear Politics titled “Are We Looking at an Undertow Election?” A “wave election” is one where a candidate enjoys broad support, often lifting the fortunes of everyone on the same political party ticket. An “undertow election” is where the electorate doesn’t particularly like any of the candidates, but one of the candidates is strongly disliked. This candidate is swept up in the undertow as voters select his or her challenger.
An “undertow election” takes pollsters by surprise and gives one candidate a large election victory that no one was expecting. The term “undertow election” was linked on many political blogs.
Wikipedia: Ben Domenech
Ben Domenech (born December 31, 1981, Jackson, Mississippi) is an American conservative writer and blogger who co-founded the RedState group blog. In March 2006, he was hired to write a conservative blog for washingtonpost.com but resigned after three days amid allegations of plagiarism during his college years.[2] After first denying but then apologizing and ceasing online activity for some time, Domenech returned to continue editing and writing for Redstate, Human Events, and other conservative publications. Domenech is the managing editor for health care policy at The Heartland Institute, the editor of The New Ledger and The City, and hosts a daily free market podcast at BigGovernment. He also authors a subscription-based daily email focused on politics and economics called The Transom.
Real Clear Politics
Are We Looking at an Undertow Election?
By Ben Domenech - October 30, 2012
(...)
Even given that the state Republican parties are shouldering much of this effort, and even given all the advantages Team Obama was likely to have in that arena, if Team Romney could end up close to matching them in this respect, we could be looking at an undertow election like none we’ve seen before. This would reflect not so much a groundswell as a cave-in, one where independents did not shift to Romney but away from Obama, where the bottom truly drops out of the Obama effort, and the story the left focuses on for the next year is why in the world those people stayed home.
policymic
October 30, 2012
Presidential Polls 2012: Romney Leading Nationally As the Media Begins Supporting the GOP Candidate
Amy Sterling
Pundits have coined a new term for the narrative that’s emerging in polls about a potential Romney victory next week: “undertow” election. I was told by a PolicyMic pundit that since I live in California, my vote won’t count. That may be true, but the least I can do is throw some surfing language into the mix. If the “undertow” pulling Barack Obama under the waves is real, Romney-Ryan is going to shred all over the president and carve out a win on November 6.
Fox News
‘Undertow’ presidential election in 2012?
Support for President Obama eroding?
Duration 5:29
Date Oct 30, 2012
Somewhat Reasonable
Fox News Covers the Domenech ‘Undertow Election’ Theory
by JIM LAKELY on OCTOBER 31, 2012
(...)
Ben wrote yesterday at Real Clear Politics that if Mitt Romney wins decisively, as many conservatives predict/hope, it will not be a “wave election” in the manner of Ronald Reagan in 1980, but be an “undertow election.”
(...)
That prediction bolsters Ben’s theory — creating a Mitt Romney and Republican wave, created by the undertow of Democrats and (especially) independents. Ben writes that an undertow election “would reflect not so much a groundswell [for Romney] as a cave-in, one where independents did not shift to Romney but away from Obama …”
Ace of Spades HQ
November 2, 2012
Is There a Hidden Conservative Vote Lurking Out There?
(...)
Ben Domenech coins a term—I think he coins it—an “undertow election.” Unlike a wave, you aren’t aware of the the undertow until it grabs you by the ankle and pulls you down.