However complex the US electoral system may seem, it is fascinating to read the colourful expressions used by journalists reporting on the Democratic nomination process. And the first thing to notice is just how much figurative language they use.
On your marks, get set, go!
The most common metaphor is that of a race. “Which Democrats are leading the 2020 Presidential Race?” (The New York Times) or “The Democratic race to take on Trump” (BBC), are just two examples of the many headlines over the past year that have framed the nomination process as a race. Describing any election, figuratively, as a race is, of course, not unique to English. However, in English there’s a tendency to use a specific kind of race metaphor in the context of elections, that of the horse race.
Horse-race journalism
In fact, the use of horse-race metaphors in political reporting is so common that there’s a recognised phenomenon known as ‘horse-race journalism’. Critics of this journalistic style suggest that comparing the primaries, or any other electoral process, to a simple horse race focuses too much attention on the competition between the candidates, rather than on their political policies. Concentrating on which candidates are ahead or behind in the race makes the reporting more exciting but less informative.
Here are just a few examples of horse-race metaphors that have been used by journalists reporting on the Democratic primaries. First up, the ‘dark horse’. Note that in horse racing, a ‘dark horse’ is one that isn’t a favourite to win, but does better than expected. Used metaphorically, in a political context, we get headlines like this: “The dark-horse Democratic candidate [Andrew Yang] is among the remaining seven” (The Washington Post) or “Democrats’ surprise dark horse [Amy Klobuchar] offering liberal approach” (The Houston Chronicle).
Who’s in the lead?
The candidates doing best in the race might be referred to as the ‘frontrunners’ — this is what the horses leading a horse race are called. For example: “Going into Super Tuesday, Bernie Sanders was considered the frontrunner” (The Guardian) or “Elizabeth Warren, once a frontrunner, drops out of presidential race” (The New York Times). When two horses are doing equally well in a race, they are said to be ‘neck and neck’. Reporters use this dramatic metaphor to mean that two candidates are extremely close in the polls, for example: “Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders neck and neck in their lead over the rest of the Democratic candidates” (NBC News) or, more recently, “Biden, Sanders neck and neck in new 2020 Democratic race poll” (Fox News).
Fight!
The other simplifying metaphor used to make the complex primaries seem more straightforward is of course that of the fight or battle. Like the horse race, it emphasises the candidates’ differences. After the February 19th debate in Las Vegas, The New York Times ran the alarming headline: “Fight night in Vegas: the Democrats’ debate is a brawl.” A ‘brawl’ suggests that it was like a rough street fight. Bare fists, no rules! Then, in March, CNN came up with the graphically physical headline: “Biden and Sanders brace for one-on-one battle in new phase of Democratic race.”
Appeal to the people
In order to get ahead in the race or get the upper hand in the fight, candidates must appeal to their grassroots. This vivid botanical metaphor refers to the party’s ordinary members and supporters. Individually these people aren’t powerful but as a collective they are key to a candidate’s success. For example: “Sanders is relying on grassroots support” (The New York Times) or “Supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders say their candidate brings grassroots excitement to the race” (Al Jazeera).
Campaign jargon
To win support from their grassroots, candidates will probably go ‘on the campaign trail’. Although for ordinary people, going on a trail involves putting on walking boots and packing a rucksack, when politicians hit the campaign trail, they usually get driven around in a campaign bus. On the trail they will go from one rally to the next. But these rallies have nothing to do with cars. A rally in this context is just a large meeting of supporters. At most rallies there will be a spin room, which has nothing to do with exercise bikes. The spin room is where candidates go to be interviewed by journalists and do what politicians spend so much of their time doing, put a positive spin on their campaign.