down-ballot

American  

[dohn-bal-uht] / ˈdoʊnˌbæl ət /

Also down-ticket

adjective

1. relating to or noting a candidate or political contest that is relatively low-profile and local compared to one listed in a higher place on the ballot.

   Very popular presidential nominees often cause down-ballot candidates to win.

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Etymology

Origin of down-ballot

First recorded in 1980–85; down ¹ ( def. ) + ballot ( def. )

Example Sentences

Baraka, who came in second, couldn’t match her donor network, and party support that still decides most down-ballot races.

From Slate

"One of the shortcomings I believe of our national party committees is that they focus almost exclusively on just one election cycle with no longer term arc to their work. The DNC focus is primarily just on federal races, and while we have to win federal races for sure we also cannot ignore down-ballot races, state legislative bodies, local government races, frankly, where we're seeing a lot of disastrous public policy being passed in this country."

From Salon

What is one down-ballot item you are voting on that you think is particularly important: Not really.

From Slate

At any rate, because we had a sense of where we’d land on the top race, we asked two new questions of staff who voluntarily shared this year: who they think will win the election and why, and whether there’s a ballot initiative or down-ballot race where they live that is motivating them.

From Slate

What is one down-ballot item you are voting on that you think is particularly important: I am voting for the slate of school board candidates in our town who say they think the school district’s administrators need to communicate better with parents, because it’s true that the school district’s administrators could stand to write clearer emails.

From Slate