The American presidential election (31)
If – like me – you are a non-American following the primary elections in the USA, you have to learn a lot of new terminology. In the current stage of the race, two terms are of particular strangeness.
One term is “a Hoosier” This is a word used to describe a resident of the state of Indiana – which votes next – but nobody is sure of the origin of the term. More information here.
Another term is “a NASCAR voter”. This is a reference to the kind of white, male, working class voter than Obama is finding hard to reach and the term comes from the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing – web site here – which these voters are assumed to support.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
To understand the nuances of the term NASCAR voter better, you should be aware is that although NASCAR is now popular throughout the US, traditionally it is considered a Southern sport. A NASCAR voter is someone who holds the values of the modern working-class South.
A parody portrayal of NASCAR types can be seen in the TV series from the late 1970’s, “The Dukes of Hazzard”, and in the eponymous movie of a few years ago with Jessica Simpson.