In
United States politics
The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a b ...
and government, the term presidential nominee has two different meanings:
# A candidate for
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
who has been selected by the
delegate
Delegate or delegates may refer to:
* Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia
* Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique
* Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations
* Delegate (Unit ...
s of a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
at the party's
national convention
The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...
(also called a ''presidential nominating convention'') to be that party's official candidate for the presidency.
# A person nominated by a sitting U.S. president to an executive or
judicial
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...
post, subject to the
advice and consent
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previo ...
of the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. (See
Appointments Clause
The Appointments Clause of Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, of the United States Constitution empowers the President of the United States to nominate and, with the advice and consent (confirmation) of the United States Senate, appoint public offi ...
,
.)
Presumptive nominee
In
United States presidential election
The election of the president and the vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not dire ...
s, the presumptive nominee is a presidential candidate who is assumed to be their party's
nominee
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
* t ...
, but has not yet been formally nominated or elected by their
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
at the party's
nominating convention
A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The formal purpo ...
.
[ Sabato, Larry; Ernst, Howard R. ][Wiessler, David (March 4, 2008]
"Factbox: Presidential political terms"
Reuters. Ordinarily, a candidate becomes the presumptive nominee of their party when their "last serious challenger drops out" or when the candidate "mathematically clinches—whichever comes first. But there is still room for interpretation."
[Nathaniel Rakich]
"What Makes a Presidential Nominee 'Presumptive'?"
''The New Republic'' (May 3, 2016). A candidate mathematically clinches a nomination by securing a simple majority (i.e., more than 50 percent) of
delegate
Delegate or delegates may refer to:
* Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia
* Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique
* Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations
* Delegate (Unit ...
s through the
primaries
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...
and
caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures.
The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
es prior to the convention.
The time at which news organizations begin to refer to a candidate as the "presumptive nominee" varies from election to election.
The shift in media usage from "
front-runner
In politics, a front-runner (also spelled frontrunner or front runner) is a leader in an electoral race. While the front-runner in athletic events (the namesake of the political concept) is generally clear, a political front-runner, particularly i ...
" to "presumptive nominee" is considered a significant change for a campaign.
In the modern era, it is the norm for the major political parties' nominees to be "clear well before the conventions";
in the past, however, some conventions have begun with the outcome in doubt, requiring
multiple rounds of balloting to select a nominee.
The last major party conventions with more than one ballot for president occurred in
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
for the
Democrats and
1948 for the
Republicans.
Losing candidates, after withdrawing from the primary race, often "release" their delegates, who frequently declare support for the presumptive nominee.
A presumptive nominee typically will have already selected a
vice presidential running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...
before the convention—see
veepstakes
Veepstakes describes the quadrennial process in which candidates for president of the United States select a running mate. If the ticket wins, the running mate becomes the vice president of the United States and first in line to the presidency. ...
.
In the past, the choice of vice presidential nominee has been made by the convention itself.
The term "presumptive nominee" is disliked by some writers; language commentator
William Safire
William Lewis Safire (; Safir; December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009Safire, William (1986). ''Take My Word for It: More on Language.'' Times Books. . p. 185.) was an American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He w ...
called it a "bogus title" and preferred the phrase ''presumed nominee'', which was used by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in 2004.
Ben Zimmer
Benjamin Zimmer (born 1971) is an American linguist, lexicographer, and language commentator. He is a language columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal'' and contributing editor for ''The Atlantic''. He was formerly a language columnist for ''The ...
(June 10, 2008)
"The Presumptive Nominee, I Presume?"
Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus.
See also
*
List of United States presidential candidates
This article is a list of United States presidential candidates. The first U.S. presidential election was held in 1788–1789, followed by the second in 1792. Presidential elections have been held every four years thereafter.
Presidential candida ...
*
Preselection
Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...
*
Prospective parliamentary candidate
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Presidential Nominee
United States presidential elections terminology