Front Runner Status

One of a variety of "horse race" political idioms, front runner status means the state of being in the lead.

The "race" is the campaign for political office.


Example: "Wednesday was supposed to be Cuomo’s day as he picked up the endorsement of New York City’s notoriously independent mayor, Michael Bloomberg, in the race for governor.

But a new poll changed that because it turned Cuomo’s once comfortable front-runner status on its head. ...Only six points separate Cuomo and Paladino in the Quinnipiac University poll. Cuomo now leads 49-43, with a plus or minus error of 3.6."