[2] A number of modern articles related to electoral politics or elections have identified those who have run for elected office and lost two to three times, and then decide to mount a campaign again as perennial candidates.
[2][6] Some who have had their campaign applications rejected by their country's electoral authority multiple times have also been labelled as perennial candidates.
Some perennial candidates may mount a run as a way to help strengthen their party's standing in a parliamentary body, in an effort to become kingmaker in the event of a political stalemate.
[10] Some perennial candidates have been accused of running for office continuously as a way to get public election funding.
[12] Novelty candidates are those who run for office as a form of satire or protest, with no serious policies.