ambitious
Leibnizian optimist
Pollyanna
addict
also-ran
applicant
aspirer
aspiring
baby kisser
bidder
candidate
chiliast
claimant
collector
competitor
coveter
dark horse
defeated candidate
desirer
devotee
dud
fancier
favorite son
freak
hankerer
hopeful
hoper
irrepressible optimist
lame duck
lover
millenarian
millennialist
millennian
office seeker
optimist
perfectibilist
perfectibilitarian
perfectionist
petitioner
philosophical optimist
political hopeful
postulant
presidential timber
ray of sunshine
running mate
seeker
solicitant
solicitor
applier
admirer
adventurer
aspiration
contender
endeavors
inquirer
playwright
potentate
suitor
tyrant