"Superdelegate" is an informal term commonly used for some of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention or Republican National Convention.

Unlike most convention delegates, the superdelegates are not selected based on the party primaries and caucuses in each U.S. state, in which voters choose among candidates for the party's presidential nomination. Instead, most of the superdelegates are seated automatically, based solely on their status as current (Republican and Democratic) or former (Democratic only) party leaders and elected officials. Others are chosen during the primary season. All the superdelegates are free to support any candidate for the nomination.

Although originally coined and created to describe this type of Democratic delegate, the term has become widely used to describe these delegates in both parties, even though it is not an official term used by either party.

For Democrats, superdelegates fall into two categories:

For Republicans, in 2012, there are potentially 3 superdelegates in each state, consisting of the state chairman and two RNC committee members. However, certain states either have no superdelegates or have them but their votes are bound by the results of the state vote. In 2012, there are 126 Republican superdelegates.