Elections & terms
candidate
Someone seeking an office. Federally, a person becomes a candidate in law once they raise or spend more than a threshold amount, which triggers reporting.
In full
The legal moment matters: crossing the threshold requires registering a campaign committee with the FEC and filing regular disclosure reports. Before that, an exploratory effort operates under different rules. Ballot candidacy is separate again, governed by each state's filing deadlines and signature requirements.
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Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.