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Dictionary:

dark horse

One who achieves unexpected support and success as a political candidate, typically during a party's convention.
A little-known, unexpectedly successful entrant, as in a horserace.

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Idioms: dark horse

A little known, unexpectedly successful entrant, as in You never can tell--some dark horse may come along and win a Senate seat. This metaphoric expression originally alluded to an unknown horse winning a race and was so used in a novel by Benjamin Disraeli (The Young Duke, 1831). It soon began to be transferred to political candidates, among the first of whom was James K. Polk. He won the 1844 Democratic Presidential nomination on the eighth ballot and went on to win the election.

US History Encyclopedia: Dark Horse

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. In 1844, James K. Polk became the first dark horse presidential candidate when Martin Van Buren, the expected Democratic choice, rendered himself unpopular to many in his party by arguing against the immediate annexation of Texas. In 1852, Franklin Pierce followed in the dark horse tradition. Other more recent examples of dark horses include James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, and Warren G. Harding.

Bibliography

Doenecke, Justus D. The Presidencies of James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas, 1981.

Gara, Larry. The Presidency of Franklin Pierce. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1991.

Haynes, Sam W. James K. Polk and the Expansionist Impulse. New York: Longman, 1997.

—W. B. Hatcher/A. E.

Columbia Encyclopedia: 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.

Politics: dark horse

An unexpected winner. In politics, a dark horse is a candidate for office considered unlikely to receive his or her party's nomination, but who might be nominated if party leaders cannot agree on a better candidate.

Wikipedia: dark horse

This article describes dark horse candidates. For other uses, see Dark Horse.

A dark horse candidate is one who is nominated unexpectedly, without previously having been discussed or considered as a likely choice. Often a dark horse is selected as a compromise when other, more prominent candidates' factions cannot come to an agreement. This metaphoric expression originally alluded to an unknown horse winning a race and was so used in a novel by Benjamin Disraeli (The Young Duke, 1831).

The expression was soon applied to political candidates, among the first of whom was James K. Polk. He won the 1844 Democratic presidential nomination over Martin Van Buren on the eighth ballot and went on to win the election.

Other famous dark horse candidates for the United States presidency include:

Franklin Pierce, who was chosen as the Democratic nominee and later elected the 14th president in 1852
Abraham Lincoln, was chosen as the Republican nominee and elected as the 16th president in 1860.
Rutherford B. Hayes, elected the 19th president in 1876
James A. Garfield, elected the 20th president in 1880
Warren G. Harding, elected the 29th president after his surprise nomination.
James K. Polk was nominated and surprisingly elected to the Presidency despite the presence of many a stronger and more charismatic candidate. However, he would eventually go on to become one of America's most famous presidents, mostly due to his acquisition of what is now the American Southwest through the Mexican-American War.
John W. Davis, the unsuccessful Democratic nominee in 1924
Wendell Willkie, the unsuccessful Republican nominee in 1940

More recently, some have described Bill Clinton as a dark horse, after he overcame a crowded field of Democratic hopefuls to win the 1992 presidential election. The same has been said with regard to Jimmy Carter and the 1976 presidential election.

The term dark horse is applied more commonly in recent history for media and pop culture. Surprising or unlikely nominations for such prizes as the Academy and Juno Awards are referred to as dark horses.

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		US History Encyclopedia. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
		Politics. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dark horse". Read more

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