running mate: Meaning and Definition of

run'ning mate"

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a candidate for an office linked with another and more important office, as for the vice-presidency.
  2. a horse entered in a race in which another, more important, horse from the same stable, or belonging to the same owner, is run.
  3. a close companion.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.