Presidential nominee
In United States politics and government, the term presidential nominee has two different meanings.
Firstly, it is the person selected by the delegates of a political party to be the party's nominee for President of the United States, typically at the party's national nominating convention.[1] The nominee also may be referred to as the "presidential candidate."
Secondly, it is someone nominated by a sitting U.S. president to an executive or judicial post, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.[2] (See Appointments Clause, List of positions filled by presidential appointment with Senate confirmation.)
Presumptive nominee
In United States presidential elections, the presumptive nominee is a presidential candidate who is assured of his or her party's nomination, but has not yet been formally nominated by his or her political party at the party's nominating convention.[3][4] "Generally, it appears that a candidate is considered his party's presumptive nominee when his last serious challenger drops out or he mathematically clinches—whichever comes first. But there is still room for interpretation."[5] A candidate mathematically clinches a nomination by securing a simple majority (i.e., more than 50 percent) of delegates through the primaries and caucuses prior to the convention.[3][4] The time at which news organizations begin to refer to a candidate as the "presumptive nominee" varies from election to election.[5] The shift in media usage from "front-runner" to "presumptive nominee" is considered a significant change for a campaign.[5]
In the modern era, it is the norm for a party's nominee to be "clear well before the conventions"[4]; in the past, however, some conventions have begun with the outcome in doubt, requiring multiple rounds of balloting to select a nominee.[6] The last such conventions occurred in 1952 for the Democrats and 1948 for the Republicans; in every presidential election since, one candidate in each party has already secured a majority of delegates by the time of the convention, making the result of the convention a "foregone conclusion" before it begins.[7]
Losing candidates, after withdrawing from the primary race, often "release" their delegates, who frequently declare support for the presumptive nominee.[8]
A presumptive nominee typically will have already selected a vice presidential running mate before the convention—see veepstakes.[9][10][11] In the past, the choice of vice-presidential candidate has been made by the convention itself.[12]
The term "presumptive nominee" is disliked by some writers; language commentator William Safire called it a "bogus title" and preferred the phrase presumed nominee, which was used by the New York Times in 2004.[13]
See also
References
- ^ Judicial and Statutory Definitions of Words and Phrases, Volume 1, Edition 2, West Publishing Company, 1914, p. 588 p. 618
- ^ John G. Geer, Wendy J. Schiller & Jeffrey A. Segal, Gateways to Democracy: An Introduction to American Government (2d ed.: Wadsworth/Centgage Learning 2014), p. 406.
- ^ a b Sabato, Larry; Ernst, Howard R. Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections. Infobase Publishing. 2006. p. 216. ISBN 9780816058754.
- ^ a b c Wiessler, David (March 4, 2008) "FACTBOX: Presidential political terms, Reuters.
- ^ a b c Nathaniel Rakich, What Makes a Presidential Nominee 'Presumptive'?, New Republic (May 3, 2016).
- ^ Stephen K. Medvic, Campaigns and Elections: Players and Processes (2d ed: Routledge, 2013), p. 144.
- ^ Medvic, p. 144.
- ^ Barbara Norrander, The Imperfect Primary: Oddities, Biases, and Strengths of U.S. Presidential Nomination Politics (2d ed.: Routledge, 2015), p. 25.
- ^ Eleanor Clift & Matthew Spieler, Selecting a President (Macmillan, 2012), p. 41.
- ^ Norrander, p. 25.
- ^ Medvic, p. 144.
- ^ Medvic, p. 144.
- ^ Ben Zimmer, The Presumptive Nominee, I Presume?, Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus (June 10, 2008).