general election

noun

|Updated on: 9 Jun 2018

: an election usually held at regular intervals in which candidates are elected in all or most constituencies of a nation or state

See general election defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of general election from the Web

The district is deeply Democratic, and Haaland is expected to win the general election with relative ease.

— sarah jones, The New Republic, "Will New Mexico give America its first Native American congresswoman?," 6 June 2018
All four women are favored to win the general election.

— harry enten, CNN, "'Top-two' fears appear overblown and women dominate in Tuesday's primary elections," 6 June 2018
Only the top two finishers in the June 5 primary will move on to compete in the general election, so a third-place showing would mean the end of the road for Villaraigosa.

— jason mcgahan, Los Angeles Magazine, "How Wealthy Charter-School Advocates Have Shaped the Race for California Governor," 4 June 2018
Vihstadt, a Republican turned independent, won a special election in 2014 and, seven months later, was elected to a full four-year term in the general election.

— patricia sullivan, Washington Post, "Two newcomers battle for Democratic nomination to Arlington County Board," 1 June 2018
There is no chance for Keirstead to win the general election.

— latimes.com, "Rohrabacher's remarks on LGBTQ homebuyers are deeply offensive," 30 May 2018
Now, Abrams will attempt to make history by becoming the nation's first black female governor in November — and her state's first woman governor — by winning the general election in a state that Republicans still dominate.

— NBC News, "Stacey Abrams wins Georgia 'Battle of the Staceys' in bid to become first black female governor in U.S.," 23 May 2018
Malloy went on to win the general election by a razor-thin margin over Greenwich businessman Tom Foley and prevailed in a 2014 rematch with Foley.

— neil vigdor, courant.com, "Bob Stefanowski And Dave Stemerman Ramp Up Ads In GOP Gubernatorial Race," 22 May 2018
In many of those races, the Republican winner of the primary is all but certain to win the general election given how dominant the GOP is in some districts, thanks to gerrymandering.

— jeremy wallace, Houston Chronicle, "Record number of primary runoff elections for Congress in Texas," 22 May 2018

These 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.