minor party
noun
: a political party whose electoral strength is so small as to prevent its gaining control of a government except in rare and exceptional circumstances
Examples of minor party in a Sentence
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For example, a candidate would need to completely abandon a minor party nomination before the person could file to run in a major party primary.
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Tyler Kirby, Kansas City Star, 14 May 2025
However, in recent years Bayrou has been a close adviser to Macron (he was supposed to have joined the first Macron cabinet but fell foul of a minor party funding scandal – Marine Le Pen is charged with the same type of indiscretion but on a larger scale).
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Each state has unique election laws, and the process for qualifying as a minor party — like the Green Party — is typically different from the process of getting on the ballot as an independent candidate like Cornel West or Robert F. Kennedy Jr., neither of whom have a national party affiliation.
—Alyce McFadden, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2024
Kansas election officials identified two nomination loopholes during the 2024 cycle — one involving a candidate being nominated by a minor party without consent, and another where a candidate who lost in the primary reappeared under a minor party in the general election.
—Tyler Kirby, Kansas City Star, 14 May 2025
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Tyler Kirby, Kansas City Star, 14 May 2025
However, in recent years Bayrou has been a close adviser to Macron (he was supposed to have joined the first Macron cabinet but fell foul of a minor party funding scandal – Marine Le Pen is charged with the same type of indiscretion but on a larger scale).
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Each state has unique election laws, and the process for qualifying as a minor party — like the Green Party — is typically different from the process of getting on the ballot as an independent candidate like Cornel West or Robert F. Kennedy Jr., neither of whom have a national party affiliation.
—Alyce McFadden, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2024
Kansas election officials identified two nomination loopholes during the 2024 cycle — one involving a candidate being nominated by a minor party without consent, and another where a candidate who lost in the primary reappeared under a minor party in the general election.
—Tyler Kirby, Kansas City Star, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for minor party
Cite this Entry
“Minor party.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minor%20party. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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