History Main / LandslideElection

* ''{{Blackadder}} the Third'' featured a by-election in the rotten borough of "Dunny-on-the-Wold"; Baldrick was elected by 16,472, with zero votes cast in opposition. It should be noted that there was only ''one'' voter[[hottip:*:a certain E. Blackadder, who became the vote after the previous one [[CutHimselfShaving "accidentally brutally stabbed himself in the stomach while shaving"]]]]; not surprisingly, the election was rigged.

* ''{{Blackadder}} the Third'' featured a by-election in the rotten borough of "Dunny-on-the-Woad"; Baldrick was elected by 16,472, with zero votes cast in opposition. It should be noted that there was only ''one'' voter[[hottip:*:a certain E. Blackadder who became the vote after the previous one accidentally brutally stabbed himself in the stomach while shaving]]; not surprisingly, the election was rigged.
** The one voter being Blackadder himself, after the previous one voter brutally cut his head off while shaving.

** Semi-averted, however, in that while Bartlet is a compellingly charismatic leader who wins all his personal elections comfortably, but his party never manages to profit from it, and he has to govern with a hostile congress throughout his term of office. Disappointed party members accusingly call him "The lonely landslide". Of course, if the Republicans didn't have power throughout the series, it would have undermined their status as the opposition, since audiences tend to root for the underdog.

** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1980 US 1980 presidential election]] saw JimmyCarter going into the election with the Iran hostage crisis, a worsening economy at home, inflation, high interest rates and high unemployment all on his watch. He proceeded to get his ass kicked in a matter most righteous.

Compare DownToTheLastPlay.
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''Examples:''
* The election was held in [[PeoplesRepublicofTyranny a state where the elections are just for show]], and only serve to confirm that the current [[EvilOverlord despot]] or [[TheConspiracy despots]] are [[VillainWithGoodPublicity supported by "the people"]].

* The country ''does'' have a functioning multiparty system, but a party normally in strong contention nominates a more [[KnightTemplar radical]] or [[IncorruptiblePurePureness philosophically principled]] candidate, whose proposals are too far out of the mainstream to garner much public support. He is then thoroughly clobbered by a more [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids pragmatic]] opponent. Sometimes, however, this defeat is instrumental in securing a victory in some future election; the idealist candidate "rallies the troops", and gets them excited about politics again.

''Examples:''

* The country has a multiparty democracy, but the main opposition party disintegrates due to internal dissension and a general lack of organisation and purpose. One party will win all the major elections until a viable replacement for the opposition can be found.

''Examples:''

* The party which has been governing for the past few years has been doing a ''spectacularly'' cruddy job, or at least many people ''believe'' that they have. In an election that most people think is long-overdue, the electorate decides to "Throw the Bums Out" in a big way.

''Example:''

* A major party winds up getting split between two factions, allowing another party to come up the middle and win easily. May or may not overlap with Type 3, above.


''Examples:''
* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1912 US presidential election of 1912]] (very sorry) had the Republicans split between the conservative wing, led by WilliamHowardTaft, and the liberal wing, led by TheodoreRoosevelt. After losing the Republican primary, Roosevelt founded his own party called the Progressive Party. The resulting split of Republican voters allowed Democrat WoodrowWilson to come up the middle and win 40 states, and 435 electoral votes.




* No particular problem or political issue caused it; it's just that one candidate has a ''crippling'' lack of [[TheCharmer charisma]] and [[UnaccustomedAsIAmToPublicSpeaking oratorical ability]], and possesses [[LackOfEmpathy zero ability to connect with the voters]].

''Example:''

* {{France}} in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_French_presidential_election 2002]]: Far right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen managed to get the second place in the first turn of the presidential election, behind the incumbent conservative president Jacques Chirac, but ahead of the Prime Minister Lionel Jospin (he fell to third place due to vote-splitting on the left among various parties and being perceived as "soft on crime"). The runoff was therefore a contest between a moderately conservative politician frequently accused of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_scandals_in_the_Paris_region corruption scandals]] and an antisemitic admirer of the Third Reich (whose slogan, "Proud to be French", was mocked by protest signs reading "I'm ashamed to be French"). As a result, nearly every non-far-right voter decided to vote for Chirac, who got reelected with '''82%''' of the votes.
** Still, some French voters weren't happy about the choice offered. This was famously epitomised by a pre-election poster of Chirac with the caption "vote for the crook, [[EvenEvilHasStandards not the fascist]]".
* A similar example to France: in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_gubernatorial_election,_1991 1991, Louisiana voters]] also found themselves in a mess after incumbent governor Buddy Roemer placed third in the first round (largely due to a faltering government and a poorly handled party switch), and the final decision came down to Edwin Edwards, a three-term governor (who lost the previous election to Roemer) constantly accused of corruption but minority-friendly, and David Duke, a far-right Nazi-sympathising former Grand Wizard of the KKK. The outcome proved rather predictable: almost everybody closed ranks behind Edwards (he was endorsed locally by his former rivals Roemer and David Treen, and nationally by GeorgeHWBush) and he went on to crush Duke by a 61%-39% landslide. As with the French one, bumper stickers expressing the importance of supporting Edwards appeared, two of the most popular being "Vote for the crook. It's important." and "Vote for the lizard, not the wizard".
** In what can be either HilariousInHindsight or a [[FunnyAneurysmMoment scarily accurate prediction]], the now-defunct ''Shreveport Journal'' considered Edwards' career over after his loss to Roemer in 1987 and said that the only way he could win again was if he ran against Hitler.
* The same thing happened in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_presidential_elections,_2000 Romania in 2000]]: as a result of the then-ruling right-wing coalition collapsing and popular disillusionment, the choice came down to either Ion Iliescu, who had already served as president after Communism fell between 1989-1996 and remains (to say the least) ''very'' controversial over his involvement in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Iliescu#Mineriads Mineriads]], and Corneliu Vadim Tudor, an infamous far-right politician known for nationalism, xenophobia, irredentism (his party is the only one that still advocates reunification with Moldova), and populist rhetoric that frequently lapses into anti-Semitism, anti-Roma and anti-Hungarian prejudice. Predictably, Iliescu defeated Tudor by a 66.8%-33.2% majority, although the election was notable for having a really low turnout.

** France in 2002: Far right politician Jean Marie Le Pen managed to get the second place in the first turn of the presidential election, behind the incombent conservative president Jacques Chirac, but ahead of the liberal Prime minister Lionel Jospin. The second turn of the election was therefore a contest between a moderately conservative politician and an antisemitic admirer if the third reich. As a result, nearly every left leaning voter decided to vote for Chirac, who got reelected with '''82%''' of the votes

** And of course, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1932 the US presidential election of 1932]]. The Great Depression was going on, millions of Americans were out of work, and HerbertHoover wasn't doing shit. He received a ''massive'' "don't let the door hit your ass on the way out" notice.

** ''Subverted'' by the 2010 UK general elections, where everyone was expecting the Tories to do to Labour what the latter did to the former in 1997. Labour had been in government for 13 years, the UK was in the middle of a recession, the Iraq and Afghan wars were still dragging on and GordonBrown was unpopular. Yet not only did the Tories not win in a landslide, they actually failed to achieve enough seats to govern on their own, and so had to form a coalition with the far-Left Liberal Democrats. Labour lost heavily, but kept enough seats for the prospect of a Grand Coalition of Labour, the Lib Dems and the other minor parties to be semi-feasible.

* An episode of ''BarneyMiller'' took place on election day. The Inspector is a strong proponent of a good friend of his who is running for office, even though the only thing that anybody else can remember about the candidate is that he was accused of being involved with bribery and corruption in the sanitation department (the Inspector's awkward attempts to defend the candidate on the grounds that "[[ImplausibleDeniability they couldn't prove any of that]]" only seem to confirm the truth of the accusations). Not surprisingly, the candidate loses by a margin of more than 5 to 1.

** * Semi-averted, however, in that while Bartlet is a compellingly charismatic leader who wins all his personal elections comfortably, but his party never manages to profit from it, and he has to govern with a hostile congress throughout his term of office. Disappointed party members accusingly call him "The lonely landslide". Of course, if the Republicans didn't have power throughout the series, it would have undermined their status as the opposition, since audiences tend to root for the underdog.

* The 2002 Presidential Election on ''TheWestWing'' was originally predicted to be close, but instead turned into a LandslideElection after President Bartlett ''eviscerated'' Governor Richie in the debate.

* Semi-averted on ''TheWestWing''. President Bartlett is a compellingly charismatic leader who wins all his personal elections comfortably, but his party never manages to profit from it, and he has to govern with a hostile congress throughout his term of office. Disappointed party members accusingly call him "The lonely landslide".

*** Another thing which didn't help the PC's case was the infamous face ad (Google it), which, to '''many''' people, appeared to be mocking Chretien for his Bell's palsy. [[{{Understatement}} It didn't go over very well with the voters.]]

* The election was held in [[PeoplesRepublicofTyranny a state where the elections are just for show]], and only serve to confirm that the current [[EvilOverlord despot]] or [[TheConspiracy despots]] are [[VillainWithGoodPublicity supported by "the people"]].

Thanks to TheCaseyEffect, fictional elections often come down to [[DecidedByOneVote a tiny handful of votes, or even just a single vote]]. This may result in a DarkHorseVictory or a victory by the [[UnderdogsNeverLose candidate commonly reckoned to be the "underdog"]]. Sometimes a [[SleazyPolitician crooked machine politician]] will be unseated, to the shock of everyone.

In fiction, of course, a LandslideElection defies TheCaseyEffect, so it is most often used for [[PlayedForLaughs comedy]], rather than for [[PlayedForDrama drama]]. When used for drama, it can serve to illustrate [[VillainWithGoodPublicity how much the villain has made himself beloved by the public]] (perhaps thereby proving that DemocracyIsBad), or serve as a cathartic final victory for the good guys, proving that they have triumphed beyond doubt. This is probably a more realistic way to show that the heroes have "won" than having them win by a narrow margin, since an election won by a very narrow margin generally does not give the winner a "mandate" to do what he wants, and one may rest assured that a significant portion of the electorate will probably resent the fact that he took office.

***It probably helped that Lyndon Johnson had recently signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which "outlawed unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public", gaining much favor even among moderate Republicans. Goldwater had voted against the Act, claiming this was a matter of state legislation and not a federal one. This didn't stop his opponents from painting him as a racist.

** The American Federalist Party collapsed shortly after 1816; James Monroe won the 1820 Presidential election essentially without opposition, winning 228 of 231 electoral votes. Eventually, the Federalists were replaced by the Whigs.

** For fifty years after the Civil War, the Republican Party dominated federal policy, which was characterized by high tariffs, temperence, and westward expansion. Between 1861 and 1913, only one Democrat (Grover Cleveland) was elected President of the United States.

!!Examples

* The SouthPark episode "Douche and Turd" featured an election for the position of "school mascot" between the title characters. The whole episode appeared to be a [[SubvertedTrope set-up]] for a DecidedByOneVote scenario, with AnAesop about the importance of voting. After Stan is ''finally'' persuaded to cast his vote, which he does for the Turd Sandwich, the Giant Douche wins the election, 1410 to 36. To [[ItGotWorse make matters worse]], a messenger arrives just after the results are read to tell the characters that outside circumstances had [[SpoofAesop rendered the whole election unnecessary]], and ''neither'' candidate would take his place as mascot.
* The 2002 Presidential Election on TheWestWing was originally predicted to be close, but instead turned into a LandslideElection after President Bartlett ''eviscerated'' Governor Richie in the debate.
* TheSimpsons saw Sideshow Bob (a convicted felon) defeat incumbent Mayor "Diamond" Joe Quimby (also a convicted felon) in a shocking upset landslide. It was later revealed that Bob had fixed the election.

* {{Blackadder}} the Third featured a by-election in the rotten borough of "Dunny-on-the-Woad"; Baldrick was elected by 16,472, with zero votes cast in opposition. It should be noted that there was only ''one'' voter[[hottip:*:a certain E. Blackadder who became the vote after the previous one accidentally brutally stabbed himself in the stomach while shaving]]; not surprisingly, the election was rigged.

* In the film version of TheLastHurrah, [[LoveableRogue Frank Skeffington]] expects to win re-election handily, and we are given little reason at first to suppose that he won't win by a landslide. In the end, the vote ''is'' a landslide victory- for Skeffington's opponent, [[BrainlessBeauty Kevin McCluskey]]. The change in mood at Skeffington's headquarters as the returns come in is a highlight of the film.
* Mr. Lindermann in the first season of ''{{Heroes}}'' uses Micah's technopathic ability to manipulate the electronic voting machines and fix Nathan Petrelli's election to Congress into a landslide victory.
* In British drama series ''The Amazing Mrs Pritchard'' about an 'ordinary' woman with no political experience who starts a new political party the titular character ends up winning the General Election with 54% of the vote seats and 378 seats with the Conservatives and Labour reduced to less than 270 seats between them.

* Semi-averted on TheWestWing. President Bartlett is a compellingly charismatic leader who wins all his personal elections comfortably, but his party never manages to profit from it, and he has to govern with a hostile congress throughout his term of office. Disappointed party members accusingly call him "The lonely landslide".

** After 18 years in office, in the UK's general election of 1997 the Conservatives received a massive "don't let the door hit your ass on the way out" notice. It's also happened a few more times in the UK, including (if I remember correctly) 1945 and 1983.

*** Or that Mondale often got eclipsed by his much more popular VP pick, Geraldine Ferrarro, ''in his own campaign materials''. Several women's groups famously wore buttons reading '''''Ferrarro and What's His Name.'''''

** Again from an American Presidential election (very sorry), President RonaldReagan absolutely ''crushed'' Walter Mondale in 1984. President Reagan probably would have won no matter what, but Mondale's nasal speaking voice, hesitant phrasing, and inability to "spin" his message, particularly when contrasted with the ultra-smooth skills of "The Great Communicator", turned an ordinary defeat into a LandslideElection.

*** Or that Mondale often got eclipsed by his much more popular VP pick, Geraldine Ferrarro, ''in his own campaign materials''. Several women's groups famously wore buttons reading ''Ferrarro and What's His Name.''