Favorite son
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the Star Trek: Voyager episode, see Favorite Son (Voyager episode).
A Favorite son is a political term that can refer to two different types of politicians:
- A politician whose electoral appeal derives from his or her regional appeal, rather than his or her political views. For example, in the United States, presidential candidates usually win the support of their home states fairly easily.
- A member of a political party who is favored by the party leadership to assume a prominent role; ror example, Paul Martin, in Canada.
In U.S. politics, nominating favorite sons was also used as a technique to send uncommitted delegations to a national convention of the Democratic or Republican Party. A popular or well-known governor or senator would be nominated, but was not a serious candidate. At some point during the convention, the favorite son would withdraw, freeing his delegates to support another candidate. The technique allowed senior leaders from the state to negotiate with candidates for preferential treatment.
The technique was widely used in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Since the days of "open conventions" were largely replaced in the 1960s with nationwide campaigns by candidates and binding primary elections, the Favorite Son technique of winning delegates' votes has fallen out of use. There are rare examples still, especially in rural areas (for example Jackie Healy-Rae of County Kerry, Ireland.)
