Seeking nomination

In the United States, a party’s presidential candidate may be selected in a series of primary elections or primaries. Primary elections are held in some, but not all, states as a way of finding which candidate has most support. The final choice of presidential candidate is made by delegates representing each state at the party conventions, famous for late-night bargaining, supposedly in smoke-filled rooms, between supporters of each candidate. The expression smoke-filled room is used to refer to meetings where intense, secret negotiations take place, usually between members of the same group or party, to the exclusion of outsiders.

Candidates looking for selection seek nomination as the party’s presidential candidate.

It is that time again, and that place too. On the first weekend of November, five of six declared candidates for the Democratic nomination made their way, as so many of their kind have done before, to New Hampshire. Its primary will be held on February 10th, and it is, as always, the first in the nation.

The reform changed the delegates to the national party convention were selected. By forcing delegates to declare their allegiance and run for election, that reform was intended to replace the smoke-filled rooms and deal-making with intra-party primaries that had until then been mainly ‘beauty contests’ of little consequence.

An attempt to become president is sometimes referred to as a bid for the presidency or a presidential bid.

The candidate running for the vice-presidency is the presidential candidate’s running mate. An ideal combination of candidates for these two posts is known as the dream ticket. The expression is also applied to other attractive political partnerships in the US and elsewhere. It is even sometimes used to describe a single candidate with attractive qualities.

His presidential bid has attracted to this small city roughly 350 highly paid consultants, strategists, and idealistic young volunteers, not to mention scores of expense-account journalists and thousands of tourists.

Gary Hart’s bid for the presidency failed after the evidence of his romantic link with Donna Rice.

If Hillary is the perfect partner, then in Al Gore he had the perfect running mate. It really was the dream ticket for women. Where Clinton is rugged and earthy, Gore is clean cut and preppy.

This new dawn is not to be confused with the last new dawn, when Neil Kinnock and Ray Hattersley were described as a dream ticket.

Election results

When it becomes apparent which parties or politicians have won an election, the winners claim victory and the losers concede or admit defeat.

If a party or a candidate wins an election by a large amount or margin, commentators talk about a landslide.

The conservative New Democracy Party are claiming victory in the Greek elections after winning half the 300 seats.

Benazir Bhutto has admitted defeat in Wednesday’s general elections, even before official results have confirmed what seems to have been a major electoral upset.

Opposition leaders in Zambia say that President Kenneth Kaunda has conceded defeat. Presidential challenger Frederick Chiluba told reporters that he’d spoken with Kaunda on the telephone.

They received 55 per cent of the vote, a comfortable margin in the first parliamentary elections in the unified Germany.

Now with Communism in all its forms discredited, he has come down in favour of social democracy within a pluralist framework. But his party’s apparent landslide victory in the elections appears to make a multi-party system something of an irrelevance for the time being.

Task 4. Surprising victory or massive defeat?

These words are used to describe victory and defeat. Complete them.

1. c_t_g_r_c_l

2. c_mf_rt_bl_

3. c_nv_nc_ng

4. cr_sh_ng

5. d_c_s_v_

6. d_v_st_t_ng

7. h_ _vy

8. _v_rwh_lm_ng

9. _ _ _ _ _ nd_ng

10. sp_ct_c_l_r