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

Both are pledging to be automatic delegate votes at convention -- meaning that in the unlikely scenario that Biden isn't nominated on the first ballot at convention, Sharon and Ahmad would become superdelegates and support Williamson on the second ballot. —Isabella Murray, ABC News, 29 Mar. 2024

Moses Mercado, the recall’s field organizer, was a superdelegate for Barack Obama who has lived in the city for 31 years. —Andrew Trunsky, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2024

What about Pete Buttigieg, Michelle Obama and the 'superdelegates?' Outside the usual suspects who appear to be jockeying for at least a future presidential run, there would certainly be an attempt by other factions of the party to elevate their preferred candidate should Biden bow out. —Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2024

Then there was Moses Mercado, the campaign’s field organizer who had come to D.C. in 1993 to work for a Texas congressman and had been a superdelegate for Barack Obama. —Meagan Flynn, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2024

Congressional candidate Heather Mizeur first met rock singer Melissa Etheridge back in 2008, when the singer called Mizeur, a superdelegate at that year’s Democratic National Convention, on behalf of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. —Jason Fontelieu, Baltimore Sun, 9 Oct. 2022

Biden has already won the backing of 104 superdelegates, and more are lining up behind his candidacy every day. —Susan Ferrechio, Washington Examiner, 5 Mar. 2020

There are 41 pledged delegates up for grabs in the Democratic race, plus an additional eight unpledged (superdelegates) from Iowa. —NBC News, 3 Feb. 2020

That means that there’s a second round of voting with unpledged superdelegates to help determine the nominee. —Nicole Goodkind, Fortune, 18 Mar. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above