wave election

American  

[weyv i-lek-shuhn] / ˈweɪv ɪˌlɛk ʃən /

noun

Politics.

1. an election in which one party makes significant gains in Congress, at the state level, or in a parliament.

   a wave election that saw Republicans win control of the House and flip seven Senate seats.

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Etymology

Origin of wave election

First recorded in 2010–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wave election

“In a narrow election the postmortem is a bunch of woulda, shoulda, coulda. In a wave election, the postmortem is a bunch of ’welp,’” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2022

None of that surprises Simon Rosenberg, the founder of New Democrat Network who helped propel Democratic candidates in the wave election of 2018.

From New York Times ● Aug. 24, 2022

Mr. Cox, of Fresno, defeated incumbent Republican David Valadao in California’s 21st congressional district as a part of the Democratic wave election in the 2018 midterms.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 16, 2022

By the time the 1866 midterm elections rolled around, they had created conditions for what we would now call a "wave election."

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2022

It worked in early 2017, when women’s marches led by activists and local grassroots groups rather than elected officials prefigured a 2018 wave election highlighted by first-time female candidates.

From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2020