Prohibitive Favorite
To be so favored to win something as to discourage other people from entering a competition – their participation “prohibits” other competition. It’s often used in the context of electoral politics, where someone is so favored to win a party’s nomination that no other candidate contests the race.
Why I Looked It Up
I knew the term meant someone was an overwhelming favorite or a slim favorite, but wasn’t sure.
In a CNN article, I found this:
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs – best known nationally for taking a stand against former President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud – entered this year’s governor’s race as the prohibitive favorite among Democrats.
However, the article explains that Hobbs was involved in the controversial firing of a black employee years earlier, and it has damaged her changes.