Word Study
front runner
THESAURUS
front runner
advance guard, airhead, ancestor, announcer, antecedent, avant-garde, battle line, beachhead, bellwether, bridgehead, buccinator, bushwhacker, explorer, farthest outpost, first line, forebear, forefront, foregoer, forerunner, front, front line, front rank, front runner, frontiersman, fugleman, groundbreaker, guide, harbinger, herald, innovator, lead runner, leader, line, messenger, outguard, outpost, pathfinder, pioneer, point, precedent, precursor, predecessor, railhead, scout, spearhead, stormy petrel, trailblazer, trailbreaker, van, vanguard, vaunt-courier, voortrekkerFor further exploring for "front runner" in Webster Dictionary Online