A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat.
These seats only require a small swing to change hands and therefore are typically the focus of most campaign resources. The concentration of money and manpower in areas where they will make the most difference is known as targeting.
Read more about Marginal Seat: Strategies For Securing Swing Seats
Famous quotes containing the words marginal and/or seat:
“In realms of knowledge, we bequeath our books,
And woe pursue who to a master quotes
The funnier of our witty marginal notes.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“They have thrown away her electric toothbrush, someone else slips
The key into the lock of her safety-deposit box
At the Crocker-Anglo Bank; her seat at the cricket matches
Is warmed by buttocks less delectable than hers.”
—Randall Jarrell (1914–1965)