(n.) One who hopes.

Leibnizian optimist Pollyanna addict also-ran applicant aspirer baby kisser bidder candidate chiliast claimant collector coveter dark horse defeated candidate desirer devotee dud fancier favorite son freak hankerer hopeful hoper irrepressible optimist lame duck lover millenarian millennialist millennian office seeker optimist perfectibilist perfectibilitarian perfectionist petitioner philosophical optimist political hopeful postulant presidential timber ray of sunshine running mate seeker solicitant solicitor stalking-horse suitor suppliant supplicant utopian votary wanter wisher yearner