major party

noun

|Updated on: 7 Jun 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

The populists who make up Italy’s new government have toyed with exiting the common currency, whereas all of Spain’s major parties are committed to staying in.

— greg ip, WSJ, "Why Italy Is Flirting with Euro Exit and Spain Isn’t," 3 June 2018
The general election will decide how much relevancy each major party has until 2020.

— melody gutierrez, San Francisco Chronicle, "Democrats look to make GOP irrelevant again in California Legislature," 1 June 2018
Some state lawmakers want to address polarization in Harrisburg by changing state election law to allow for open primaries where voters unaffiliated with the two major parties can vote for nominees in either party.

— ray boyd, Philly.com, "Pa. lawmakers seek open primaries to combat polarization, Andrea Constand's first interview since Cosby conviction | Morning Newsletter," 1 June 2018
In response, Rodriguez tweeted that the regulatory agency targets only independent candidate because it is controlled by the major parties.

— Fox News, "Mexican presidential candidate fined for campaign violations," 29 May 2018
On the ballot in Georgia May 22: The candidates from the major parties now running for governor are, from left, top row, Republican Lt.

— brian o'shea, ajc, "AJC Voter Guide 2018 is available online," 20 May 2018
The rest of the gubernatorial field for the major parties — Republicans Attorney General Bill Schuette of Midland; Lt.

— todd spangler, Detroit Free Press, "Battle lines drawn: Nearly 1,000 file for Michigan primary election," 24 Apr. 2018
This raises the possibility of a fracture, with neither major party fully able to claim an outright majority and many independents in the mix helping to make up the balance.

— royce kurmelovs, CNN, "Political mavericks shake South Australia out of its two-party torpor," 15 Mar. 2018
The General Assembly decided not to wait for the judges, passing legislation last week that creates a ninth member of the combined board, registered with neither major party.

— gary d. robertson, The Seattle Times, "AP Explains: Why is election board fight still unsettled?," 17 Feb. 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.

First Known Use of major party

1950

in the meaning defined above

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