Reid Wilson talked about the history and exaggeration of election “October surprises,” which he defined as “the notion of the last-minute big moment that changes the trajectory of any given race.” He said the phrase was coined in 1972 when former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger stated a couple of days before the election that there was a possibility of peace in the Vietnam War. He referenced other events that happened before elections, such as the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 or stories that popped up about George W. Bush’s military record in 2004. He also discussed other congressional and state races around the country, and responded to telephone calls and electronic communications.