superdelegate

noun

su·per·del·e·gate ˈsü-pər-ˌde-li-gət

US politics

: a person who is chosen as a delegate to a political party's presidential nominating convention because of his or her status as a leader or official within the party and who is free to vote for any candidate regardless of the results of the popular vote in primary elections and caucuses preceding the convention

Superdelegates were invented by the Democrats after the 1980 election in the expectation that in any future close nomination race, they would line up behind the establishment candidate and head off the possibility of a ruinous floor fight at the convention.—

Matt Bai

Examples of superdelegate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Swiftly, Democrats around the country—delegates, superdelegates, donors, and Congressional leaders—unified in support of Vice President Harris. —

Marvin Kalb and Garrett Mitchell, TIME, 24 July 2024 All the delegates and superdelegates are already selected and set to convene in Chicago. —

Editorial Board, Washington Post, 21 July 2024 In the Democratic Party, a superdelegate is an unelected delegate who can vote for any candidate for the presidential nomination at the party convention. —

Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 21 July 2024 California California’s delegation could be pivotal at Democratic National Convention — depending on Biden July 17, 2024 What is a superdelegate? —

Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for superdelegate

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'superdelegate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.