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1980 – Iran
Jimmy Carter, the Georgia peanut farmer with the folksy manner and outsider vibe, swept into the White house in 1976 amid high hopes for his administration. But the sheen had dimmed considerably four years later, not least because of the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran by revolutionary students, who held dozens of diplomats hostage for 444 days. A failed rescue attempt that led to the deaths of American servicemen didn’t help.
Then, days before the national vote, came the announcement that the captives would not be released until after the election. Reagan won in a landslide; the hostages were freed minutes after his inauguration. His campaign was accused of working with Tehran to delay the release, an allegation that has never been proven.
2000 – Bush DUI
George W. Bush was in a tight race with Al Gore when a bombshell was broken by a local TV reporter in Portland, Me., just days before the election. More than 20 years earlier, the Republican candidate had pleaded guilty to impaired driving. It was technically speaking a November surprise, the revelation emerging two days into the month.
Bush still won, but Karl Rove, his campaign strategist, has suggested it cost him some states. The outcome of the vote was so close, it triggered days of legal wrangling.
2016 – Emails and crude comments
The first of a string of October surprises in the last presidential contest was the release of a tape made by the Access Hollywood TV show, of Republican candidate Donald Trump crudely discussing his ability as a reality-TV star to feel up women — to “grab them by the p—y.”
