Candidate

A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:

to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
to receive membership in a group

"Nomination" is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office by a political party,^[1] or the bestowing of an honor or award. This person is called a "nominee",^[2] though nominee often is used interchangeably with "candidate".^[3] A presumptive nominee is a person or organization believes that the nomination is inevitable or likely. The act of being a candidate in a race for either a party nomination or for electoral office is called a "candidacy".^[4] Presumptive candidate may be used to describe someone who is predicted to be a formal candidate.^[5]

Etymology

Candidate is a derivative of the Latin candidus (‘shining white’).^[6] In ancient Rome, men seeking political office would usually wear the toga candida, a toga chalked and bleached to be bright white at speeches, debates, conventions, and other public functions.^[7]

Candidates in Religious Contexts

In the Roman Catholic Church, baptized members of other Christian denominations seeking full membership are known as candidates. Their reception into the Catholic Church is done through a profession of faith, followed by the reception of Holy Communion and Confirmation. In contrast, those persons who have never received the sacrament of baptism are, as a matter of Catholic canon law, considered non-Christians and if they are preparing to become a member of the Catholic Church (through the church process called the Christian Initiation of Adults, they are known as catechumens.^[8]

Political Candidates

In the context of elections for public office in a representational partisan democracy, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party. The party's selection (that is, the nomination) is typically accomplished either based on one or more primary elections according to the rules of the party and any applicable election laws.^[1]

Candidates running for office are described as incumbents if they currently hold the office they seek, or challengers if they aim to unseat an incumbent.

In the context of elections for public office in a direct democracy, a candidate can be nominated by any eligible person—and if parliamentary procedures are used, the nomination has to be seconded, i.e., receive agreement from a second person.

Spitzenkandidat

In German politics, the person at the head of an electoral list is called the Spitzenkandidat ("lead candidate"). By convention, this means that this person (normally the party leader) will be elected to lead the government if their party wins the election. Various other countries with a parliamentary democracy have the same system.

In 2014, the major groups represented in the European Parliament and the European Council agreed to apply this process to determine the next President of the European Commission, as a way of the Council "taking account of the results of the European Parliament election" as required by the Union treaties. This led to the appointment and confirmation of Jean-Claude Juncker.^[9]

Trivia

The Canadian politician John Turmel is holding the Guinness World Records for contesting the highest number of elections, having run in 112 contests and lost 111.^[10] In 2017, the British novelty candidate Lord Buckethead draw public attention by running against then-Prime Minister Theresa May. The interest in the candidacy resulted in appearances on the HBO program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and at the Glastonbury Festival.^[11]

In 2024, the political party The Planetary Democrats nominated "Planet Earth" as a symbolic candidate in the European Parliament election.^[12] In the same year, the campaign Snæfellsjökull for President nominated the Icelandic glacier Snæfellsjökull for the Icelandic presidential election.^[13] The nominations attracted international media coverage and resulted in a legal dispute concerning the right to stand as a candidate.^[14]^[15]^[16]

References

^ ^a ^b Judicial and Statutory Definitions of Words and Phrases, Volume 1, Edition 2, West Publishing Company, 1914, p. 588 p. 618
^ "Nominee". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
^ Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce; Smith, Alastair; Siverson, Randolph M.; Morrow, James D. (2005). The logic of political survival. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-02546-1.
^ "Candidacy". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
^ Hazan, Reuven Y.; Rahat, Gideon (2010-07-08). Democracy within Parties: Candidate Selection Methods and Their Political Consequences. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572540.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-172307-0.
^ "Candidate". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
^ "Candidate (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
^ "Christian Initiation of Adults". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
^ "Commission's Spitzenkandidat process at risk". POLITICO. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
^ Kassam, Ashifa (2018-09-23). "'No regrets': world's biggest election loser runs for 96th time in Canada". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
^ Waterson, Jim (2019-05-26). "Double trouble: the fight to be the real Lord Buckethead". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
^ "2024 European election: 59 lists of nominated candidates submitted within the prescribed time limit". Federal Returning Officer. 2024-03-19.
^ Kassam, Ashifa (2024-04-19). "Bid to secure spot for glacier in Icelandic presidential race heats up". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
^ Winters, Joseph (2024-09-11). "What if nature had a voice in legislation?". Grist. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
^ "Icelandic glacier running for president". BBC. 2024-04-11.
^ 2 BvQ 26/24 (Federal Constitutional Court 2024-04-09).

[Definition-1] Judicial and Statutory Definitions of Words and Phrases, Volume 1, Edition 2, West Publishing Company, 1914, p. 588 p. 618

[2] "Nominee". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 2012-11-07.

[3] Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce; Smith, Alastair; Siverson, Randolph M.; Morrow, James D. (2005). The logic of political survival. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-02546-1.

[4] "Candidacy". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 2012-11-07.

[5] Hazan, Reuven Y.; Rahat, Gideon (2010-07-08). Democracy within Parties: Candidate Selection Methods and Their Political Consequences. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572540.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-172307-0.

[6] "Candidate". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 2012-11-07.

[7] "Candidate (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved December 14, 2023.

[8] "Christian Initiation of Adults". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 14, 2023.

[9] "Commission's Spitzenkandidat process at risk". POLITICO. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

[10] Kassam, Ashifa (2018-09-23). "'No regrets': world's biggest election loser runs for 96th time in Canada". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-11.

[11] Waterson, Jim (2019-05-26). "Double trouble: the fight to be the real Lord Buckethead". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-11-11.

[12] "2024 European election: 59 lists of nominated candidates submitted within the prescribed time limit". Federal Returning Officer. 2024-03-19.

[13] Kassam, Ashifa (2024-04-19). "Bid to secure spot for glacier in Icelandic presidential race heats up". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-11-11.

[14] Winters, Joseph (2024-09-11). "What if nature had a voice in legislation?". Grist. Retrieved 2024-11-11.

[15] "Icelandic glacier running for president". BBC. 2024-04-11.

[16] 2 BvQ 26/24 (Federal Constitutional Court 2024-04-09).

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