nominee

/ˈnɑməˌni/

/nɒmɪˈni/

Other forms: nominees

A nominee is someone running for office. You could be a nominee for student council or for the presidency.

To nominate is to name or select someone as a candidate for office. In the United States, the primary elections help each party figure out who to nominate to run for office. That candidate is called the nominee. Once a nominee is selected, he or she runs against the sitting president. There are nominees at every level of government. Being a nominee is quite an honor, but it's not the ultimate goal: a nominee could still win or lose the election.

Definitions of nominee

1. noun

   a politician who is running for public office
   synonyms: campaigner, candidate

   types:

   dark horse

   a political candidate who is not well known but could win unexpectedly

   favorite son

   a United States politician favored mainly in his or her home state

   running mate

   a nominee for the lesser of two closely related political offices

   spoiler

   a candidate with no chance of winning but who may draw enough votes to prevent one of the leading candidates from winning

   stalking-horse

   a candidate put forward to divide the Opposition or to mask the true candidate

   write-in, write-in candidate

   a candidate for public office whose name does not appear on the ballot and so must be written on the ballot by the voters

   type of:

   pol, political leader, politician, politico

   a person active in party politics
2. noun

   someone who is considered for something (for an office or prize or honor etc.)
   synonyms: candidate, prospect

   type of:

   individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul

   a human being