The activities involved in running a political campaign, especially those using aggressive, cunning, or questionable methods.
From 'electioneer' plus the gerund suffix '-ing'. The '-ing' form of 'electioneer' became substantivized (turned into a noun) to describe the general practice rather than individual acts. This emerged in the 18th century as modern political campaigning developed.
The phrase 'mere electioneering' appears constantly in 19th-century texts—it became a way for critics to dismiss their opponents' campaign activities as underhanded. It's a word loaded with skepticism, showing how languages encode our political cynicism!
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