SINCE 1828
general election
nounDefinition of general election
: an election usually held at regular intervals in which candidates are elected in all or most constituencies of a nation or state
Examples of general election in a Sentence
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Finland’s government collapsed Friday, just weeks before the country heads to the polls for a general election, after the prime minister failed to win approval for key reforms. — Dominic Chopping, WSJ, "Finland’s Government Collapses Weeks Before General Election," 8 Mar. 2019 In 1988, with Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as a running mate, Bush won the general election, becoming the 41st president of the United States. — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, "President George H. W. Bush Has Died At Age 94," 1 Dec. 2018 In the elections for the House of Representatives, 48 of these candidates made it to the primaries, and 18 of them made it to the general election, Science magazine reports. — Mary Beth Griggs, The Verge, "New congressional members with science backgrounds may help shape national policy," 7 Nov. 2018 While this year’s elections have been in the spotlight, historically speaking, midterms have lower turnout than general elections, when the country votes for presidents. — Rachel Janfaza, Teen Vogue, "These 3 Midterms Elections Prove That Off-Year Elections Really Matter," 26 Oct. 2018 The sentencing comes a week after Mr. Cuomo won a resounding Democratic primary victory against Cynthia Nixon and has turned toward the general election campaign against Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, a Republican. — Corinne Ramey, WSJ, "Ex-Cuomo Aide Gets Six Years in Prison for Bribery," 20 Sep. 2018 The Conservatives came out of the general election with 318 seats, short of the 326 needed for the narrowest majority on party-line votes. — Arthur I. Cyr, Lake County News-Sun, "Cyr: Britain’s prime minister takes charge of cabinet," 13 July 2018 The guilty verdict against Sharif, 68, threatens to end the career of one Pakistan's most high-profile politicians of the last century and deals a major blow to his party ahead of a general election in July. — NBC News, "Pakistani court sentences ex-PM Sharif to 10 years in prison for corruption," 6 July 2018 The relationship between Trump and Pecker dates back decades, but the communication between Trump, Cohen and Pecker's publications ramped up during the presidential primaries and the general election campaign in 2016. — Sarah Ellison, latimes.com, "National Enquirer let Trump’s lawyer tweak its stories during presidential campaign, sources say," 22 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'general election.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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