View source for Perennial candidate

A '''perennial candidate''' is somebody who runs several times for political office, without ever winning.

Such a candidate may fall into one of three categories:
#A candidate who has a similar name to a well-known figure, and hopes that voters will think s/he is that person (for example, in [[Texas]] for many years a "Gene Kelly" - no relation to the famous entertainer - ran in statewide primary elections)
#A candidate who has a small, yet devoted, following, but no real chance to win (examples include [[Harold Stassen]] - who ran 9 times for President between 1948 and 1992 - and [[Lyndon LaRouche]] - who ran 8 times for President between 1976 and 2004)
#A candidate who is serious about trying to campaign and win, but is in a race - usually a local one - where the opposition party has a [[safe seat]]

After repeated unsuccessful runs a perennial candidate - especially one who runs knowing s/he has little chance of winning in a primary - often becomes the subject of [[joke]]s.

[[Category:Election Terms]]