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An incumbent is an elected official who holds an office and is running for reelection.
incumbent
The incumbent is demanding a recount.
The word "incumbent" is used to describe the candidate who is currently in office. Since Barack Obama is the president, he is thus called "the incumbent." This may change when the 2012 election is held, but as of today, he remains the incumbent, and his opponent is called the "challenger."
Re-Election
The correct term for a current officeholder who is running for re-election is "incumbent."
Incumbent
incumbent
The phrase incumbent governor would be referring to the current governor. As of June 2014, Terry Branstad of Iowa is America's longest serving governor.
The possessive form for the singular noun incumbent is incumbent's.
The word "incumbent" refers to the person who is currently in office. So, the incumbent president refers to President Obama. His challenger in the 2012 election was Mitt Romney. In politics, the incumbent is the one who holds the job-- whether it's the governor or mayor or president; the person trying to win that job in an election is the challenger, who is trying to defeat the incumbent.
Barack Obama is the incumbent president.