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dark horse |
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dark horse, in U.S. politics, a person unexpectedly chosen by a major party as a candidate for public office, especially for the presidency. A presidential dark horse is usually chosen at a party national convention and often has acquired only a local or limited reputation at the time of his nomination. He is invariably the offspring of compromise after rival factions have deadlocked the convention. Probably the best-known example of a dark horse is James K. Polk, who was selected at the Democratic convention of 1844 on the ninth ballot, although he had not been nominated until the eighth ballot. dark horse 1. a competitor in a race or contest about whom little is known; an unknown 2. US Politics a candidate who is unexpectedly nominated or elected How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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The third, a bit of a dark horse from the first, was at the end of eighteen months something of a dark horse still to the department. |
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