Synonyms of candidates

candidates

noun

plural of candidate

as in applicants

one who seeks an office, honor, position, or award

each candidate for town council was allowed to speak at the candidates' forum

Synonyms & Similar Words

• applicants
• contenders
• hopefuls
• aspirants
• prospects
• campaigners
• competitors
• nominees
• seekers
• contestants
• expectants
• entries
• qualifiers
• entrants
• appliers
• favorites
• claimants
• pretenders
• spoilers
• stalking horses
• running mates
• favorite sons
• crown princes
• dark horses

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• incumbents
• officeholders
• awardees
• inductees
• noncandidates
• honorees
• dropouts

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of candidates

Meanwhile, outside the five districts that Democrats hope to switch, there are safely Democratic districts where progressive candidates are jousting with mainstream rivals, a subset of the national party’s ideological conflict. — Dan Walters, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026

Two possible Democratic 2028 presidential candidates — ex-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rahm Emanuel, an ex-Chicago mayor who was President Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff — have campaigned with Powell. — Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026

Gruters specifically predicted victories for Republican Senate candidates in Ohio, Maine, and Texas, where Democrats are eyeing flipping longtime Republican seats. — Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 24 Aug. 2026

These questions challenge candidates to acknowledge mistakes and share credit—the antithesis of their natural motivation to self-aggrandize and create a heroic image of their impact. — Harvard Business Review, 24 Aug. 2026

In races from Ohio to Wisconsin to Pennsylvania, candidates in both parties are scrambling to distance themselves from data center projects their own leaders spent years courting. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026

But the president's support for data centers is at odds with the advice GOP candidates seeking election this year are being given. — Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026

The president is organizing a Republican midterm convention in Dallas next month that will serve as much a two-day rally for him as a boon to party candidates nationwide. — ABC News, 22 Aug. 2026

Independent groups spent millions more backing unsuccessful Republican candidates for governor Chris Carr and Brad Raffensperger, with interests ranging from Planned Parenthood to Georgia Realtors rounding out the top spenders. — David Wickert, AJC.com, 18 Aug. 2026