Favorite son

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Favorite son (or favorite daughter) is a political term.

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Serious candidates usually, but not always, avoided campaigning in favorite sons' states. If a party's leader in a state, usually the governor, was unsure of whom to support, as the favorite son the state party could avoid disputes. Conversely, a party leader who has chosen a candidate might become a favorite son to keep other candidates' campaigns out of the state, [2] or prevent a rival local politician from becoming a favorite son. [3] The favorite son may explicitly state that the candidacy is not viable, [4] or that the favorite son is not a candidate at all. [1] The favorite son may hope to receive the vice-presidential nomination, [4] Cabinet post or other job, increase support for the favorite son's region or policies, [5] or just the publicity from being nominated at the convention. [2]
The technique was widely used in the 19th and early 20th centuries. [5] Since nationwide campaigns by candidates and binding primary elections have replaced brokered conventions, the technique has fallen out of use, [2] [6] as party rule changes in the early 1970s required candidates to have nominations from more than one state. [7]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "How 'Favorite Son' Politics Works". The Pittsburgh Press . January 12, 1928 via Google News Archive Search.
  2. 1 2 3 "No Demo Favorite Sons". The Deseret News . UPI. September 20, 1971. pp. 5A via Google News Archive Search.
  3. 1 2 Meiklejohn, Don (July 3, 1960). "Favorite Son Idea is Devised to Put State in Strong Position at Convention". Ocala Star-Banner . Perry News Services. p. 22 via Google News Archive Search.
  4. 1 2 3 "Smathers Gets Favorite Son Candidate Nod". Ocala Star-Banner. Associated Press. May 29, 1968. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-09-28 via Google News Archive Search.
  5. 1 2 Tucker, Ray (January 30, 1960). "How Term 'Favorite Son' Got Started in Politics". The Free Lance-Star. pp. 4, 7. Retrieved 2023-09-28 via Google News Archive Search.
  6. Shafer, Byron E. (1988). Bifurcated Politics: Evolution and Reform in the National Party Convention . Harvard University Press. p.  71. ISBN   9780674072565. Favorite sons were already, almost necessarily, in decline as the nomination moved outside the convention in the prereform years.
  7. Tarr, Dave; Benenson, Bob (22 October 2013). Elections A to Z. CQ Press. ISBN   9781506331508 via Google Books.
  8. "Favorite Son Groups Will be Numerous at 1940 Convention of Democrats". The Day (New London) . August 4, 1939 via Google News Archive Search.
  9. But not only in them: in Lenin's will, Nikolai Bukharin was termed "the Party's favourite son": Randazzo, Francesco, Zarstvo and Communism: Italian Diplomacy in Russia in the Age of Soviet Communism. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019, p. 110.

Bibliography