The history of the 'October surprise'

WBUR

Published October 20, 2026 at 10:11 AM MDT

Coined in the 1980s, October surprises are scandals or newsmaking events that can influence voters just weeks before Election Day.

Here & Now‘s Lisa Mullins talks with Princeton University history professor Julian Zelizer about historic October surprises.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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