Definition of superdelegate
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
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Recent Examples of superdelegate from the Web
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The superdelegate system has been in place since the 1980s, when Democrats sought to avoid blowout losses like George McGovern had suffered in 1972 and President Jimmy Carter faced in 1980 by increasing the influence of party insiders.
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A leading proponent on the unity commission for keeping superdelegates in their current role, several members said, is Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio, a Clinton selection to the panel.
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Yes, the superdelegates are not bound to their pledges.
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Superdelegates can switch candidates at any time, and their support does not become official until the Democratic convention in July.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'superdelegate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of superdelegate
1983
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