write-in candidate

Cultural  

1. A candidate for public office whose name does not appear on the ballot (usually because he or she has not secured the nomination of a political party) but whose name must be written on the ballot by voters.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

write-in candidate

East San Fernando Valley incumbent Kelly Gonez faces one challenger, Jose Sagredo, who, as a write-in candidate, will not even have his name on the ballot.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026

She decided to run anyway, as a write-in candidate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

Later that year, the then-32-year-old Devine challenged O’Neill as a write-in candidate.

From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2024

Mr. Phillips won 20 percent of the vote in New Hampshire, which Mr. Biden won as a write-in candidate, and then placed third behind the self-help author Marianne Williamson in South Carolina.

From New York Times ● Feb. 6, 2024

President Lyndon Johnson won the New Hampshire primary in 1968 as a write-in candidate, although he dropped out of the race 19 days later.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2023