Tantamount to election

A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally, or a combination of both. Safe seats are considered unlikely to change hands because of the political leanings of the electorate in the constituency concerned or the popularity of the incumbent member. This contrasts with a marginal seat, in which a defeat for the seat holder is considered possible. In systems where candidates must first win the party's primary election or preselection, the phrase "tantamount to election" is often used to describe winning the dominant party's nomination for a safe seat.