A novelty candidate (also known as satirical candidate, parody candidate or joke candidate) is a person who runs for political office in an election as a form of satire or protest, without seriously expecting to win. Novelty candidates often (but need not) propose ridiculous policies, which are unreasonably specific and trivial, overwhelmingly unpopular or of other characteristics that make them ridiculous.
Novelty candidates are sometimes additionally perennial candidates, but whereas perennial candidates sometimes run on substantive policy issues, novelty candidacies are typically run for satirical purposes.