An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win (the "favorite") is defeated by (or, in the case of sports, ties with) an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom. It is often used in reference to beating the betting odds in sports, or beating the opinion polls in electoral politics.
The meaning of the word "upset" has long included "an overthrowing or overturn of ideas, plans, etc." (see OED definition 6b), from which the sports definition almost surely derived. "Upset" also once referred to "a curved part of a bridle-bit, fitting over the tongue of the horse", (now the port of a curb bit), but even though the modern sports meaning of "upset" was first used far more for horse races than for any other competition, there is no evidence of a connection.
In 2002, George Thompson, a lexicographic researcher, used the full-text online search capabilities of The New York Times databases to trace the usage of the verb to upset and the noun upset. The latter was seen in usage as early as 1877. [2]
Thompson's research debunked one popular theory of the term's origin, namely that it was first used after the surprising defeat of the horse Man o' War by the racehorse Upset in 1919 (the loss was the only one in Man o' War's career). The term pre-dates that 1919 Thoroughbred race by at least several decades. In its sports coverage immediately following Upset's victory, the Washington Post wrote, "One might make all sorts of puns about it being an upset." The name of the horse "Upset" came from the "trouble" or "distress" meaning of the word (as shown by the parallelism of the name of Upset's stablemate, Regret).
Below is a selection of major upsets from a variety of popular sports around the world. It is not meant to be comprehensive, merely representative.
Below is a list of elections which have extensively been described as upsets by a number of major media sources. It is not meant to be comprehensive, merely representative.
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 1956. Incumbent Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon, were reelected, defeating for a second time Democrat Adlai Stevenson II, former Illinois governor. This was the sixth and remains the most recent rematch of an American presidential election. It was the second time in which the winner was the same both times, the first being William McKinley's victories over William Jennings Bryan in 1896 and 1900. This was the last election before term limits established by the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which first applied to Eisenhower, became effective.
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 1968. Republican nominee, former vice president Richard Nixon, defeated both the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice president Hubert Humphrey, and the American Independent Party nominee, former Alabama governor George Wallace.
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon defeated Democratic Senator George McGovern in a landslide victory. With 60.7% of the popular vote, Richard Nixon won the largest share of the popular vote for the Republican Party in any presidential election.
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 1976. The Democratic ticket of Jimmy Carter, the former governor of Georgia, and his runningmate Walter Mondale, the senior senator from Minnesota, narrowly defeated the Republican ticket of Gerald Ford, the incumbent president, and his runningmate Bob Dole, the junior senator from Kansas. This was the first presidential election since 1932 in which the incumbent was defeated, as well as the only Democratic victory of the six presidential elections between 1968 and 1988.
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 1980. Republican nominee, former California governor Ronald Reagan, defeated incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter in a landslide victory. This was the second consecutive election in which an incumbent president was defeated, although Gerald Ford assumed the presidency after President Richard Nixon resigned and was not elected, as well as the first election since 1888 that saw the defeat of an incumbent Democratic president.
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan and his running mate, incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush, were reelected to a second term in a landslide. They defeated the Democratic ticket of former Vice President Walter Mondale and Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 7, 2006, in 36 states and two territories. The elections coincided with the midterm elections of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.
The 2006 United States Senate election in Montana was held November 7, 2006. The filing deadline was March 23; the primary was held June 6. Incumbent Republican Senator Conrad Burns ran for re-election to a fourth term, but lost to Democrat Jon Tester by a margin of 0.87%, or 3,562 votes out of 406,505 cast. This made the election the second-closest race of the 2006 Senate election cycle, behind only the election in Virginia. This was the last time an incumbent Senator lost reelection in Montana until 2024, where Tester lost to Tim Sheehy.
The 2006 House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire took place on November 7, 2006, to determine who would represent the state of New Hampshire in the United States House of Representatives during the 110th Congress from January 3, 2007, until January 3, 2009.
An upset is a victory by an underdog team. In the context of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, a single-elimination tournament, this generally constitutes a lower seeded team defeating a higher-seeded team; a widely recognized upset is one performed by a team ranked substantially lower than its opponent.
The 1948 United States elections were held on November 2, 1948. The election took place during the beginning stages of the Cold War. Democratic incumbent President Harry S. Truman was elected to a full term in an upset, defeating Republican nominee New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey and two erstwhile Democrats. The Democrats won back control of Congress from the Republicans. Until 2020, Democrats would never again flip a chamber of Congress in a presidential election cycle.
Gallup was the first polling organization to conduct accurate opinion polling for United States presidential elections. Gallup polling has often been accurate in predicting the outcome of presidential elections and the margin of victory for the winner. However, it missed some close elections: 1948, 1976 and 2004, the popular vote in 2000, and the likely-voter numbers in 2012. The month section in the tables represents the month in which the opinion poll was conducted. D represents the Democratic Party, and R represents the Republican Party. Third parties, such as the Dixiecrats and the Reform Party, were included in some polls.
Danielle Rose Collins is an American professional tennis player. She has reached career-high WTA rankings of world No. 7 in singles and No. 79 in doubles. Collins has won four singles titles, including a WTA 1000 title at the 2024 Miami Open, and one doubles title. She contested a major singles final at the 2022 Australian Open.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 8, 2022, in 36 states and three territories. As most governors serve four-year terms, the last regular gubernatorial elections for all but two of the seats took place in 2018. The gubernatorial elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, as part of the 2022 midterm elections.
The 2024 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. In the presidential election, former Republican President Donald Trump, seeking a non-consecutive second term, defeated the former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. Republicans also gained control of the Senate and held narrow control of the House of Representatives, winning a government trifecta for the first time since 2016.
The 2024 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Wisconsin. Incumbent Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin won re-election to a third term, narrowly defeating Republican nominee Eric Hovde.
The 2024 United States presidential election in Iowa was held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Iowa voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Iowa has six electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state neither gained nor lost a seat.
The 2024 United States presidential election in Texas was held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Texas voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Texas had 40 electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state gained two seats.
2020s in electoral politics refers to events and outcomes from elections all around the world, during the decade of the 2020s.
The mayor of Alexandria is elected in November every three years.