--- description: Barely a year in office, and he could win by a landslide title: Indonesia's Popular Governor Joins Presidential Race image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc43fd201d7fbc42d/6986856c810bbbfaebc907b6/182263370.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Indonesia's Most Popular Politician Joins Presidential Race  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 14, 2014 10:12 AM CUT  This picture taken on August 22, 2013, Jakarta governor Joko Widodo, a rock fan makes an air guitar gesture as he travels on a van on the way to make sight inspection in Jakarta city. This picture taken on August 22, 2013, Jakarta governor Joko Widodo, a rock fan makes an air guitar gesture as he travels on a van on the way to make sight inspection in Jakarta city.BAY ISMOYO—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 14, 2014 10:12 AM CUT Indonesia’s main opposition party has [nominated](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/14/indonesia-elections-jokowi-idUSL3N0KA0HP20140314 "undefined") Joko Widodo, the wildly popular governor of Jakarta, to lead its presidential ticket. The Sydney _Morning Herald_ [reports](http://www.smh.com.au/world/joko-widodo-to-run-for-presidency-in-indonesia-20140314-34sc9.html "undefined") that Joko already has a formidable lead in the polls, trouncing the runners up by 30 to 40% margins. In little more than a year as governor, Joko has garnered good standing as a political outsider, unsullied by corruption. If he can maintain his reputation as a reformer up until elections on July 9, analysts predict he could win the ballot by a landslide. \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/14/indonesia-elections-jokowi-idUSL3N0KA0HP20140314 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/24638/indonesias-most-popular-politician-joins-presidential-race/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/24638/indonesias-most-popular-politician-joins-presidential-race/"},"headline":"Indonesia's Most Popular Politician Joins Presidential Race","datePublished":"2014-03-14T10:12:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:46:13.134Z","description":"Barely a year in office, and he could win by a landslide","url":"https://time.com/24638/indonesias-most-popular-politician-joins-presidential-race/","keywords":["indonesia","elections","President","presidency","governor","Joko Widodo","opposition","run"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc43fd201d7fbc42d/6986856c810bbbfaebc907b6/182263370.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc43fd201d7fbc42d/6986856c810bbbfaebc907b6/182263370.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"INDONESIA-POLITICS-WIDODO","caption":"INDONESIA-POLITICS-WIDODO","creditText":"BAY ISMOYO—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/24638/indonesias-most-popular-politician-joins-presidential-race/","name":"Indonesia's Most Popular Politician Joins Presidential Race"}}]}] ```