major party

noun

|Updated on: 2 Aug 2018

Definition of major party

: a political party having electoral strength sufficient to permit it to win control of a government usually with comparative regularity and when defeated to constitute the principal opposition to the party in power

Recent Examples of major party from the Web

According to our model, the Democrats need to win 53.5% of all votes cast for the two major parties just to have a 50/50 chance of winning a majority in the House.

— The Economist, "America’s electoral system gives the Republicans advantages over Democrats," 12 July 2018
It’s candidates from both major parties competing directly against each other: Ms. Hyde-Smith and Mr. McDaniel, and the Democrats Mike Espy and Tobey Bartee.

— jeremy w. peters, New York Times, "Trump Ran as a Renegade. Now He’s Trying to Keep Them at Bay.," 1 June 2018
Consider how the two major parties have handled race.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "A Party for Women. A Party for (White) Men.," 24 May 2018
But the vast differences between the two major parties have produced dramatically disparate policies.

— craig gilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Minnesota outpaces Wisconsin, report says, in latest volley over liberal vs. conservative policies," 8 May 2018
The three bans have had a tortuous legal journey that has taken them before dozens of district court and appellate judges nominated by presidents from both major parties.

— Washington Post, "AP review: Judges split along party lines on travel ban," 3 May 2018
The three bans have had a tortuous legal journey that has taken them before dozens of district court and appellate judges nominated by presidents from both major parties.

— sudhin thanawala, Fox News, "Is Trump right about judges' leanings? Maybe, review shows," 2 May 2018
But if the election outcome tilts heavily in favor of P.T.I., the results will be challenged by other major parties.

— salman masood, New York Times, "Nawaz Sharif Is Arrested on Return to Pakistan, Amid Turmoil and Bloodshed," 13 July 2018
The race to succeed two-term Gov. John Hickenlooper tops the midterm primary, one in which unaffiliated voters, the state’s largest voting bloc, can participate without having to affiliate with one or the other of the major parties.

— Washington Post, "Gubernatorial races top Colorado’s mid-term primaries," 25 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'major party.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.