Pledged Delegate
A pledged delegate is a national convention delegate who is required by party rules to vote for the presidential candidate chosen by voters in their state's primary or caucus, at least on the first ballot.
A pledged delegate is a delegate to a party's national convention who is bound to support a specific presidential candidate based on the results of the primary or caucus that allocated them. That commitment holds under party rules for at least the first ballot at the convention.
The number of pledged delegates a candidate needs to clinch the nomination before the convention varies by party. Reaching that threshold - known as clinching the nomination - effectively ends the competitive primary season.
Pledged delegates are usually party activists, local officials, or volunteers who support the candidate. Their actual vote at the convention is a formal step in the nominating process, though in most modern cycles it confirms an already-decided outcome.
The two parties structure pledged delegates differently. Democratic pledged delegates come in three categories - district-level, at-large, and pledged PLEO (party leaders and elected officials) - all allocated proportionally among candidates who clear 15 percent support. Republican binding rules are set state by state: some states allocate proportionally, others winner-take-all, and the binding generally releases after the first ballot or if a candidate withdraws.
Pledged delegates are the opposite of superdelegates (automatic delegates), the party leaders who are not bound by any primary result. Under current Democratic rules superdelegates cannot vote on the first ballot unless the nomination is already decided. The official 2028 delegate totals will be set by each party's call to convention closer to the primaries; this page will carry the numbers when they are published.
Example
If a candidate wins 30 percent of a state's Democratic primary vote in 2028 (clearing the 15 percent threshold), they earn roughly 30 percent of that state's pledged delegates - and those delegates must support them on the convention's first ballot.
Keep learning
A party representative selected during primaries or caucuses who votes for a presidential nominee at the national convention.
A Democratic Party automatic delegate - typically an elected official or party leader - who is not bound by primary results on the first ballot.
The national gathering of a political party's delegates that formally nominates the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
The candidate formally selected by a political party to run for president in the general election.