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

Had this gone to a second ballot or beyond, the state’s 55 superdelegates, including mayors like Karen Bass of Los Angeles and state officials like Attorney General Rob Bonta, would have been added and given the state 549 votes, well over one-fifth of what was needed. —Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 26 July 2024

If the primary season ended with a relatively close contest, the superdelegates would not be able to vote on the convention’s first ballot. —Louis Jacobson and Amy Sherman, Austin American-Statesman, 22 July 2024

Democrats have two types of delegates: Pledged, who must support the candidate voters of their state selected in the primaries and caucuses; and superdelegates, party leaders who are not committed to any candidate and cannot vote on the first ballot at the convention. —Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 21 July 2024

If no candidate wins the majority of the roughly 4,000 delegates, then the party's more than 700 superdelegates, or automatic delegates, will be able to vote at the convention. —Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 21 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above