The original Mugwumps were a group of Republican activists who supported Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland in the US presidential election of 1884. They switched because they rejected the long history of corruption associated with the Republican candidate, James G. Blaine. The Mugwumps claimed to have made the difference in New York state, thus swinging a close election in favour of Cleveland.
Noted as early as 1832, the jocular word 'mugwump' is derived from mugquomp – a word in the Native American Algonquian language, meaning an important person or a kingpin – originally a war leader. The implication is that by portraying themselves as aloof from party politics, the Republican dissidents displayed a sanctimonious or 'holier–than–thou' attitude.
© Haydn Thompson 2021