Primary Colors: Encyclopedia II - Primary Colors - Clean sweep

Primary Colors - Clean sweep

In the book, the plotline diverges from the real-life 1992 Democratic primary when a surprise candidate, Florida Governor Freddy Picker, makes a late run at the nomination. Picker campaigned by waving a broom and shouting that they'd make a clean sweep. It's not clear which candidate, if any, this is based on, though most political observers believe him to be an amalgam of Jerry Brown and Ross Perot. Brown stayed in the race, continuing to needle Clinton, even after he no longer had a chance at the nomination, and Perot jumped into the general election campaign in the summer of 1992 as an independent candidate.

In 2002, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan hoisted a broom and shouted “I want you to go find the biggest broom in your house and get ready for a clean sweep in November!” [1] Arnold Schwarzenegger has also used similar symbolism, and David Miller built his successful campaign for mayor of Toronto around the image of a broom and a clean sweep.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Clean sweep", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki