Mugwump

1 9.9

Republicans who left their party to support the Democratic candidate in the 1884 U.S. election

noun
/ˈmʌɡwʌmp/

Archaic

: Mugwump

Wilson thus shared the somewhat paradoxical viewpoint of many mugwumps at that time.

Examples

During the 1884 election, many mugwumps chose to support the Democratic candidate instead of their own party.
Another contributor, in a short piece presented as the "aspirations of a mugwump," hoped to see the Conservative Party return with a substantial majority, while not aspiring to "advise my Sovereign in her choice of servants."

Academic text (1996)
"The mugwump was Evelyn Waugh.

Academic text (1996)
Mugwump.

Fiction book (1997)
The mugwumps played a crucial role in the election by abandoning the Republican platform.
As a mugwump, he believed that the integrity of the candidate was more important than party loyalty.

Surface Forms

Mugwump singular

Mugwumps plural

Etymology

Mugwump comes from a Native American word mugquomp that meant 'important person' or 'war leader'. Journalists in 1884 used it as a joke for Republicans who stood above their party and backed the Democrat, so a Mugwump became a proud, independent figure in politics.