Delegate
Before a general election in the US, the process to select candidates begins with delegates. At the state level each of the major political parties selects delegates to attend a national convention. The two ways delegates are selected are the caucus and the Primary election. Each state may have different ways to select delegates as do political parties. The Republican Party lets each state decide how to select delegates. The Democratic Party uses a proportional method for awarding delegates. The percentage of delegates each candidate is awarded depends on the caucus or how many are elected for each candidate. Candidate "X" may have 40 percent, candidate "Y" may have 20 percent while candidate "Z" may have 50 percent. Any remaining percent may be undecided votes or for other candidates.