What are the worst electoral campaigns in history?

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Though this board is normally for "live elections", I want to start an open-ended thread on some of the worst politicking you've ever seen internationally - I'm thinking in terms of gaffes, poor leadership, comedically unpopular policies etc.

[Gustaf]

The Swedish yes-campaign for the Euro I'd call a strong contender. They started with a clear lead, outspent No at least 10 to 1 and had the backing of the 4 largest parties, every national newspaper, the business sector and most trade unions and other lobby groups. They lost in a landslide.

One of my favourite moments was their campaign manager declaring a couple of weeks before the referendum that it made sense to vote no if you were uncertain. They also kept making a pun on emus and saying that the monetary union was just like the bird because it could never change course and only walk straight ahead.

Another recurring slogan was that it was boring to say no to things and more fun to say yes to them.

[tpfkaw]

I'm sure everyone's familiar with the 2010 special senate election here in Massachusetts, where Martha Coakley blew a 2-1 lead by...

Not campaigning or running ads for weeks, just waiting to be elected.

When called out on it, responding "You mean like standing outside Fenway Park, in the cold, shaking hands?"

Responding in the worst possible way imaginable when asked about [Red Sox great] Curt Schilling's support of Brown: "He's a Yankees fan!"

The next day, misspelling "Massachusetts" in a TV ad.

The week before the election, carpetbombing every house in the state with this flyer.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The objectively correct answer, I suspect.

[2952-0-0]

The 2000 Taiwan presidential election also saw the frontrunner lose in a spectacular fashion, but not strictly because of his own godawful campaigning.

The longtime dominant KMT was riven with infighting which led to the popular Song Chu Yu being expelled from the party along with his supporters. The KMT then nominated a robotic career bureaucrat, then ran a smear campaign accusing Song of pilfering party funds. Three days before the election, the Premier of the PRC made some unhelpful sabre rattling. Since this election was under First Past the Post, this led to hitherto third place candidate Chen Shui Bian eeking out a victory.

[YL]

The 1993 Canadian Tories had occurred to me too.

In the UK, I nominate the Ulster Unionists in 2010: how to end up with no MPs when you start the campaign with an MP who clearly isn't about to lose.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

My UK guess would be Yes2AV. Which, to recap:

- lost in a landslide despite starting with people leaning in favour
- snubbed Nigel Farage (pre-UKIP surge but still popular with many people) in favour of liberal intellectuals and celebrities like Eddie Izzard, Stephen Fry and, hilariously, Richard Dawkins.
- decided to front the entire campaign with a party led by the least popular politician in Britain, causing many to vote against just out of spite.
- against accusations that the system was "complicated" decided to "clarify" with a leaflet showing a short simple sentence description on FPTP and by the side a full page of writing describing how to work out AV results.
- postured the election on "it's good because The Lib Dems will get more seats". This caused almost all party machines to snub the campaign
- fluffed answers on the BNP getting in. AV would weaken chances that extremists chance of gaining seats, but because they were unwilling to criticise PR the campaign just waffled.
- was generally smug and self-congratulatory.

[DC Al Fine]

The 1993 Canadian Tories had occurred to me too.

Campaigning 101: Do not attack the deformities your opponent has as the result of a childhood illness!!!

[Harry Hayfield]

Labour 1983 in the UK

[jaichind]

2001 NYC mayor race by Mark Green.  I remember that campaign well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_mayoral_election,_2001

911 was a factor.  But back in the spring of 2001 every democrat was leading Bloomberg by 40 points.

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/new-york-city/release-detail?ReleaseID=536

[jaichind]

The 2000 Taiwan presidential election also saw the frontrunner lose in a spectacular fashion, but not strictly because of his own godawful campaigning.

The longtime dominant KMT was riven with infighting which led to the popular Song Chu Yu being expelled from the party along with his supporters. The KMT then nominated a robotic career bureaucrat, then ran a smear campaign accusing Song of pilfering party funds. Three days before the election, the Premier of the PRC made some unhelpful sabre rattling. Since this election was under First Past the Post, this led to hitherto third place candidate Chen Shui Bian eeking out a victory.

I remember that campaign well.  I backed KMT candidate Lien and was shocked by his loss and embarrassing third place finish.  Obviously a Lien-Soong ticket would have won but their egos and KMT chairman and ROC President Lee Teng-Hui who hated Soong's guts would not allow such a ticket.  In retrospect it was clear that in 2000 the trend was against the KMT and Soong actually picked up a lot of anti-KMT but anti-Chen votes which many would had perhaps gone to Chen.  In fact until Lien and Soong really went after each other in Oct 1999 it was Chen that ran a very bad campaign where he was running third when the anti-KMT sentiment should have had Chen in first or at least a strong second.  In that sense I do not think the KMT 2000 campaign was the worst ever since the anti-KMT sentiment was fairly clear by 1999 so the election while winnable was quite lose-able.    Soong was able to capitalize on due to a bad Chen campaign and only when Lien and Soong went after another did Chen recover and go on to win a race that was winnable.  What killed the Lien and Soong was that polls were not allowed in the last 10 days or the election which did not allow the anti-Chen vote to consolidate around the stronger of the two KMT candidates.

The 2000 ROC election reminds me a lot of Chile 1970.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_presidential_election,_1970

BTW, in 2004 Lien-Soong run against Chen who was backed the Lee Teng-Hui who in turn was expelled from the KMT in 2001 and lost by a tiny margin.  In 2012 Soong and again now in 2016 ran again against the KMT again on a KMT splinter ticket WITH the support of Lee Teng-Hui who has since made up with Soong after 2008.

[Zanas]

On referendums, the Yes to the European Constitutional Treaty in France in 2005 was pretty pretty bad. Not that they really made gaffes, but they were so immensely smug, there was a massive will to shut their face up, even on the soft Yes side voters.

[King of Kensington]

The objectively correct answer, I suspect.

The man defending the ad is now the Mayor of Toronto!

[DavidB.]

On referendums, the Yes to the European Constitutional Treaty in France in 2005 was pretty pretty bad. Not that they really made gaffes, but they were so immensely smug, there was a massive will to shut their face up, even on the soft Yes side voters.

I immediately thought of the Dutch yes-campaign, which might be the worst electoral campaign in history, with as low point probably the "Auschwitz/Srebrenica/Madrid attack" scare video featuring sounds of screaming babies.

61,5% said no.

[Gustaf]

On referendums, the Yes to the European Constitutional Treaty in France in 2005 was pretty pretty bad. Not that they really made gaffes, but they were so immensely smug, there was a massive will to shut their face up, even on the soft Yes side voters.

I immediately thought of the Dutch yes-campaign, which might be the worst electoral campaign in history, with as low point probably the "Auschwitz/Srebrenica/Madrid attack" scare video featuring sounds of screaming babies.

61,5% said no.

Oh, wow. So it's basically trying to frame it as a choice between voting yes and having a second Holocaust?

[DavidB.]

Oh, wow. So it's basically trying to frame it as a choice between voting yes and having a second Holocaust?

It is an extremely weird video. Yes, it is implying that without European unity/a European constitution, a second Holocaust/Srebrenica/Madrid attack will/could happen. However, the VVD MEP in the video says: "If you want to verify European legislation in a better way, then you must vote for the European constitution." This is probably the least charismatic politician that has ever walked around in Brussels, which is a pretty low bar, and the way he says must sounds really paternalistic/regentesque (and he uses the wrong Dutch word order, wtf), but most of all: how the hell do Auschwitz, Srebrenica, and Madrid relate to European legislation?! Really mindboggling. I mean, I could see the case for European cooperation in order to avoid more wars, etc. etc., but it's a bit of a stretch to imply that the European constitution is necessary in order to prevent a second Holocaust from happening, or to imply that there is a relation between "a lack of European legislation" and Auschwitz. And that's apparently what most voters thought as well. This video caused quite some outrage and it was taken off the television quite soon (which all fuelled the no-campaign), but of course the internet never forgets.

[Phony Moderate]

All recent Scottish Labour campaigns deserve a mention, including (perhaps especially) the Better Together campaign.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I think in any country without a culture of direct democracy, referendum campaigns tend to go spectacularly wrong.

[Vega]

All recent Scottish Labour campaigns deserve a mention, including (perhaps especially) the Better Together campaign.

They did win, though.

[Asian Nazi]

I think in any country without a culture of direct democracy, referendum campaigns tend to go spectacularly wrong.

My state has had direct democracy for like over a hundred years and I can assure you that the campaigns are still sh**t.  Direct democracy is just generally terrible.

[Phony Moderate]

All recent Scottish Labour campaigns deserve a mention, including (perhaps especially) the Better Together campaign.

They did win, though.

They didn't, really. A half-decent campaign could have led to a 65-35 result which would have put the issue to bed for a couple of generations. 45% was a victory for Yes Scotland.

[tpfkaw]

Going back to MA, and if it counts an election campaign, the Boston 2024 Olympics bid was spectacular in its tone-deafness.

[DavidB.]

I think in any country without a culture of direct democracy, referendum campaigns tend to go spectacularly wrong.

Why is why I can't wait for the campaign next year.

[Grand Wizard Lizard of the Klan]

I think in any country without a culture of direct democracy, referendum campaigns tend to go spectacularly wrong.

Vide Poland.

[Crumpets]

Anthony Weiner's run for mayor in 2013.

Rob Ford's reelection campaign (while it lasted) in 2014.

George Allen's 2006 Senate run.

French Socialists in 2002.