The phrase "a likely nominee" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing someone who is expected or considered to be a candidate for a position, award, or recognition.
Example: "Based on her impressive track record, she is seen as a likely nominee for the upcoming award."
Alternatives: "a probable candidate" or "a strong contender".
That is the worst showing for a likely nominee in decades.
The show itself is a likely nominee as best revival of a musical.
For several years, Mr. Gonzales was rumored to be a likely nominee to the Supreme Court.
Or a likely nominee may have been named in the press.
"The Insider" by Michael Mann, a thriller about a whistle-blower's collision with big tobacco and big media, is considered a likely nominee, despite a lackluster box-office performance.
Bill Murray, best known for his comedy work, was a likely nominee for best actor in his role as a weary film star making a commercial in Tokyo in Lost In Translation.
The poll results will be welcomed by the NRA, which hosts Republican presidential candidate M itt Romney a nd likely nominee as a speaker at its convention on Friday.
With nearly three-quarters of the delegates needed for the nomination yet to be selected, he said, "there's room for a third likely nominee, and we intend to be the real one".
This seemed to edge a little closer to the emotional heart of things: to Gipple, who called Clinton "dishonest" to her face, and to a crowd of registered Midwestern Democrats chanting at a television that their likely nominee was a liar.
On the first day as the likely nominee, a status he achieved when Mr. Romney withdrew, Mr. McCain on Friday turned his attacks toward the two Democratic candidates, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, not his remaining major Republican challenger, Mike Huckabee.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been formally announced, described Mr. Locke as the "likely" nominee, a formulation the Obama team has used in the past for a candidate on the verge of being nominated pending final vetting.
