Five October surprises that shook recent US elections

The Georgia Senate race was shaken earlier this week when a report emerged alleging that GOP candidate Herschel Walker, a staunch abortion opponent, paid a lady to terminate her being pregnant in 2009.

Though Walker denies the report, the punches preserve coming — from his son Christian Walker calling him out for allegedly mendacity in regards to the incident, to the follow-up report that the woman was the mother of one of Walker’s children.

While it stays to be seen what influence the revelations have on Walker’s possibilities within the Senate, the scandal joins a protracted record of so-called October surprises that have traditionally upended elections of their ultimate weeks.

Here are 5 of the most important October surprises of the previous couple of many years.

Trump assessments constructive for COVID-19 (2020)

Former President Trump tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 2, 2020, injecting uncertainty into an already contentious and unprecedented race.

Only months into the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines remained a number of months away, and the now-standard Paxlovid remedy wouldn’t develop into out there for nearly two years. At 74 years outdated, Trump was additionally in a high-risk class for the virus.

Despite preliminary claims that the previous president was doing properly, Trump was transported to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in a while Oct. 2, after his blood oxygen ranges fell. Aides reportedly anxious that Trump would have to be positioned on a ventilator and wouldn’t be capable to stroll to the helicopter.

Trump spent three nights within the hospital being handled with monoclonal antibodies and remdesivir, earlier than returning to the White House on Oct. 5, 2020. The former president made a dramatic exhibiting upon his return, stripping off his masks for a photograph alternative.

Access Hollywood bombshell roils Clinton-Trump race (2016)

Then the Republican nominee for president, Trump confronted extreme backlash through the 2016 election when The Washington Post printed the “Access Hollywood” tape on Oct. 7, 2016.

In the 2005 tape, Trump was caught on a sizzling microphone making lewd feedback about ladies, together with the now notorious line, “Grab them by the p—-.”

“I simply begin kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” Trump could be heard saying on the tape. “And once you’re a star, they allow you to do it. You can do something … Grab them by the p—-.”

Trump later apologized “if anybody was offended” by the dialog and dismissed the feedback as “locker-room banter.”

Comey letter reopens Clinton electronic mail investigation (2016)

Despite the bombshell “Access Hollywood” tape in October 2016, Trump’s troubles could be subsumed by one other shock by the tip of the month.

Only 11 days earlier than the election, FBI Director James Comey despatched a letter to Congress, saying that he was reopening his investigation into Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of an unsecure electronic mail server.

Comey had initially determined in July 2016 to not prosecute Clinton over the non-public electronic mail server that she had used as secretary of State beneath former President Obama. However, on Oct. 28, 2016, Comey informed Congress that the FBI had realized of the existence of emails that seemed to be related to the investigation.

In the tip, the brand new emails didn’t change the FBI’s conclusion within the Clinton electronic mail investigation. However, many have speculated, together with Clinton herself, that the Comey letter value her the election.

Romney hit with leaked “47 p.c” video (2012)

During his 2012 marketing campaign towards Obama, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was caught on tape dismissing “47 p.c” of voters in a leaked video simply weeks earlier than the election.

While this shock technically occurred in mid-September, Romney’s feedback had been largely thought of to be the “October shock” of the yr. Speaking at a personal fundraiser, Romney accused practically half of the nation of being “dependent upon authorities” within the video launched by Mother Jones on Sept. 17, 2012.

“There are 47 p.c of the individuals who will vote for the president it doesn’t matter what,” Romney mentioned. “All proper, there are 47 p.c who’re with him, who’re dependent upon authorities, who consider that they’re victims, who consider the federal government has a accountability to look after them.”

The feedback gave the Obama marketing campaign ammunition for its efforts to color Romney as out of contact with the overall inhabitants.

“That damage,” Romney mentioned, whereas reflecting on the leaked video in 2013. “There’s no query that damage and did actual harm to my marketing campaign.”

Bush’s 1976 DUI arrest is resurfaced (2000)

Former President George W. Bush had acknowledged his difficulties with alcohol and his resolution to get sober from the outset of his 2000 marketing campaign.

However, simply 5 days earlier than the election, it was revealed that Bush had been arrested for drunk driving in Maine in 1976. Thirty years outdated on the time, Bush pleaded responsible, paid a $150 fantastic and briefly misplaced driving privileges within the state.

Another non-October “October shock,” the media ran with the story on Nov. 2, 2000. Democratic candidate Al Gore deemed it inappropriate to touch upon the matter, and Bush went on to win the election — although his win was contentious.