favorite son vs candidate

favorite son and candidate both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
favorite son	Yes	No	No	No
candidate	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, candidate is a hypernym of favorite son; that is, candidate is a word with a broader meaning than favorite son:

favorite son: a United States politician favored mainly in his or her home state
candidate: a politician who is running for public office

Other hypernyms of favorite son include campaigner, nominee.

favorite son (noun)	candidate (noun)
a United States politician favored mainly in his or her home state	someone who is considered for something (for an office or prize or honor etc.)
	a politician who is running for public office