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James Gardner
Professor Babcock
English 137H
29 November 2015
The Rise of the Political Outsider
The 2016 presidential election is a hot media topic and will continue to be on the center
of attention headed into November 2016. In the Republican field of candidates, there have been
as many as seventeen candidates and the Democratic field has boasted as many as five
candidates. Both respective parties have their establishment favorites whom have held
commanding leads early in the primary race. However, as the race continues to progress,
candidates with little to no political experience have had tremendous leads in the polls and have
surpassed establishment favorites by double digit leads. In the Republican field, billionaire
businessman Donald Trump leads as front runner and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson is in a
close second place. The nearest traditional politician, Senator Marco Rubio, trails by double
digits (Trump, Carson Lead, CNN). Also popular in the GOP polls, businesswoman Carly
Fiorina made headlines for her once popular support in the face of establishment favorites. The
Democratic field has lacked a true definition of a political outsider with no political experience,
however, a major challenger to the establishment favorite Hillary Clinton is Senator Bernie
Sanders. Sanders is an open democratic socialist, which functions as outsider views because
socialism has had little influence in American politics (Socialism in America).
2016 has been deemed the year of the outsider and so far has exhibited dramatic change
from previous elections. Outsider candidates have been around in politics for decades, however,

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none have gained as much popularity in recent years as the candidates in 2016. Throughout
history, the only major footholds that outsiders have had in presidential elections are the success
of military generals such as Zachary Taylor, Ulysses Grant and Dwight Eisenhower. But what is
a political outsider? An outsider is someone who does not belong to a particular company or
organization or who is not involved in a particular activity, (Longman Dictionary). When
applied to politics, it represents someone that has never held public office or someone who has
ideologies that are outside of mainstream view. In recent elections however, outsiders have had
short lived popularity and ultimately faded away in presidential elections (nytimes.com). Now
the 2016 is fast approaching and many candidates are adopting the strategy of appealing to
citizens who desire a political outsider. Candidates such as Donald Trump and Ben Carson do
not fall into the traditional political insider role of an experienced politician backed by the
establishment party, however they continue to dominate the polls (cnn.com). But why do these
candidates have such great appeal even though they never held public office? After the 9/11
terrorist attacks, public opinion has shown that on average, Americans are having less and less
trust in the government and it is this that resulted in a shift in the popularity of outsider
politicians (Washington Post). Due to the decline in public opinion in the trust of government
after 9/11, outsider politicians have capitalized on public angst and have resulted in their shift in
popularity over establishment politicians going into the 2016 presidential election.
Outsider candidates have been deeply rooted in American politics. Many have been
unable to gain serious traction in presidential elections with the exception of military generals.
For example, in the days before primary elections, the election of General Zachary Taylor in
1848. Taylor had been a successful general in the Mexican American War and his extensive
military record appealed to many northerners (whitehoue.gov). Prior to the election, Taylor had

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had no political experience and had never voted, however, he was able to win the general
election as a member of the Whig party and defeated Lewis Cass of the Democratic Party
(ushistory.com). Another prominent military figure that functioned as a political outsider was
General Ulysses Grant when he became president as a member of the Republican Party in 1869.
Grant was the Unions hero of the Civil War and coming into the presidential election of 1868
his popularity made him the Republican Partys logical choice for president (whitehouse.gov).
At the time of Grants election, he had no political experience outside of overseeing the military
reconstruction of the South and was the youngest president to date at the age of forty-six
(biography.com). The last outsider to be elected president was General Dwight Eisenhower, the
commander of Allied Forces in World War II. Eisenhower had a long and successful career in the
military and had served as governor of the American occupational zone in Germany prior to
running for president. His popularity paved the way for his candidacy, and the slogan I like
Ike became widely known during the 1952 presidential election (millercenter.org). These three
former presidents were the last of the political outsider to be elected. Although these generals
were elected in various time periods, the most recent in 1952, they show that outsider politicians
have had little traction in presidential elections aside from being military figures.
In more recent elections, political outsiders have had increasing popularity. For example,
businessman and founder of Electronic Data Systems Ross Perot ran for president prior to the
9/11 attacks in 1992 as an independent. Perot led briefly in some states and ultimately came in
second in Utah, however, he lost the general election and was considered a spoiler for George
H.W. Bush. Although he garnered the most support an independent had since Theodore
Roosevelt, he was unable to receive any electoral votes. (The 1992 Elections, nytimes.com).
Perot ran again in 1996 as an independent, however, he gained little media attention and received

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less support than he did in 1992 (ushistory.com). Another political outsider prior to the 9/11
attacks was Steve Forbes in both the 1996 and 2000 elections. Forbes is chairman of Forbes
Media and prior to his candidacy for president, he had never ran for elected office. In the 1996
primary election, Forbes used mostly his private wealth to fund his campaign and ran primarily
on a campaign for a flat tax system (Politics on the Trail: Forbes in the Shadow of his father,
nytimes.com). Forbes managed to win the Arizona and Delaware primaries, however, he was
defeated by Senator Bob Dole in the Republican primary and dropped out before the primary
election in 2000. Both of these candidates had flamboyant campaign strategies, however, they
were unable to gain enough support among voters and resulted in their low popularity.
After the 9/11 attacks, public confidence has eroded to record lows in all three branches
of government (gallup.com). Public opinion was at its highest immediately after the 9/11
attacks, however, they have had dramatic decline, and as of 2013, had reached record lows in
recent years (gallup.com). These declining public opinion in government have resulted in the
shift of public support for outsider political candidates. For example, in the 2012 election,
businessman and radio talk show host Herman Cain ran for president as a member of the
Republican Party. Cain had never held an elected office, however, he ran unsuccessfully for
senator for Georgia in 2004. In 2011, Cain declared his candidacy for president. Cain had
originally had held little momentum, however, his campaign picked up large momentum in early
straw polls against Governor Mitt Romney and Governor Rick Perry (biography.com) due to his
tax plan and focus on fiscal responsibility. Also, during his campaign, Cain had gained much
support from voters that preferred outside candidates. As said by Matt Towery, columnist and
CEO of InsiderAdvantage, on Cains campaign, there's a degree of support from people who are
disaffected and don't want anything to do with politicians who held office, which demonstrates

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his increase in popularity (wsbtv.com). Unlike many of the Washington outsiders prior to the
9/11 attacks, Cain managed to achieve the status of front runner in the Republican primary race.
Cain had had won a Florida straw poll in early fall of 2011 and had achieved front runner
candidate after being on the back end of the Republican field (washingtonpost.com). Cain held
the frontrunner spot for almost two months in the fall of 2011, however, his popularity began to
sharply decline due to allegations of sexual misconduct and he eventually dropped out of the race
in December 2011. Nevertheless, Herman Cain demonstrated the shift in popularity of political
outsiders; he ran a campaign focused on his absence of Washington experience, and it appealed
to voters that had little trust in government. Cain demonstrates the amount of popularity that
outsiders can capitalize momentum on, and it is even more prevalent going into the 2016
presidential election.
The 2016 presidential field has been dominated by political outsiders thus far, most
notably billionaire businessman Donald Trump. Trump had considered running for president on
multiple occasions, however, the only official race that he entered was the 2016 presidential race
as a member of the Republican Party. Trump has been regarded as the clear Republican front
runner since his entrance into the race in June of 2015 and has effectively suffocated
establishment favorite candidates with vast backgrounds of political experience (cnn.com).
Another candidate that leads in the Republican Party is retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson.
Carson, like Trump has never held public office, however he has managed to gain a large
grassroots campaign upon his entrance into the race. Carson originally had a slow start, however,
he has gained large momentum that has placed him next to Trump as a front runner
(theatlantic.com). Although these candidates are leading in the Republican Party, another
outsider candidate in the GOP is businesswoman Carly Fiorina. Fiorina made an unsuccessful

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bid for California senator and has never held elected office. Fiorina has never reached front
runner status, however her strong debate performances have resulted in her propulsion into
second place among national polls (Poll: Fiorina Rockets to No.2, cnn.com). Lastly, the effective
outsider politician of the Democratic Party in the 2016 election is Senator Bernie Sanders.
Sanders, although a long time Senator of Vermont, functions as outsider due to his favored views
towards democratic socialism. Socialism in America has historically been a small and unpopular
faction in American politics and at times, has resulted in the imprisonment of socialist
candidates, such as Eugene Debs in 1920 (Socialism in America). Sanders has effectively built a
campaign around democratic socialism that has placed him in competition with the establishment
favorite Democrat Hillary Clinton.
So what has resulted in these outsider politicians gaining such popularity in the polls? As
stated above, public trust in government has been steadily declining in the post 9/11 era. With
these declining public trust in government, voters lose trust in their elected officials and thus
latch on to outsider politicians. This was evident in the 2012 election with the short lived but
large popularity of Herman Cain. The 2016 election has revolved around the political outsider
due to their ability to capitalize on the distrust of government. For example, this is seen in the
rhetoric of the outsider politicians such as Trump, Carson and Sanders. For example, Donald
Trump has adopted an unabashed and bombastic approach to campaigning that appeals to
frustrated voters. The candidates campaign slogans demonstrate their means of tuning into
voters distrust, such as Trumps slogan Make American Great Again, Carsons Heal Inspire
Revive, and Sanders A Political Revolution is Coming (Presidential Candidates). This is
also seen in candidates rhetoric also, for many are blaming Washington, and that is exactly what
the voters want to see. Geoff Garin, the advisor for the Super PAC Priorities USA Action states

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There are a lot of voters who are exceptionally frustrated with traditional politics and politicians
and who quite simply feel failed by the system, which accounts for the angst that many voters
have against Washington (washingtonpost.com). This anger has resulted in the shift in appeal to
outsider politicians and explains for the rise of Trump, Carson and Sanders. Following this
trend, voters within the Republican Party are more prone to choose an outsider candidate over an
establishment favorite (huffintonpost.com). Republican voters are frustrated with the
establishment and prefer to endorse an outsider, which fuels the fire of popular outsider
candidates. This has resulted in the low poll numbers and eventual withdraw of once popular
candidates in the 2016 GOP field such as Scott Walker and Rick Perry.
It is clear that going into the 2016 election, the major shift of public support now lies
within outsider politicians. In the past, outsider politicians have not been able to carry support
of the public in the face of establishment favorites (nytimes.com). However, the 2016 election
has proven to be different so far in the fact that outsider politicians such as Trump and Sanders
have been able to hold their large support and that no prominent military figures are involved in
the race such as Eisenhower in 1952 election. These candidates have been able to strike a nerve
with angered voters and their popularity rests upon it. The outsider candidates in the 2016
presidential race have dominated the media and have been the stars of dinner table conversations
throughout the country and it seems that their popularity and funding are not waning, but rather
increasing. The 2016 presidential election is less than a year away and the election process will
begin to truly unfold. It is with the early primaries in the spring of 2016 that the year of the
outsider will be able to demonstrate the true shift of the support of the political outsider.

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