polls and public opinion
political campaign management
concepts
ORIGINATING IN 1831, “dark horse” first appeared within Benjamin Disraeli's three-volume novel The Young Duke. Disraeli employed the term to describe the unexpected finish of a horse race: The first favourite was never heard of, the second favourite was never seen after the distance post, all the ten-to-oners were in the rear, and a dark horse, which had never been thought of, and which the careless St. [Source: Encyclopedia of U.S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior; Dark Horse Candidate]
dark horse candidate