A leader doing well in the polls? (5)

I believe the answer is:

ahead

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'doing well in the polls?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'a leader' is the wordplay.
'leader' becomes 'head' (head is a kind of leader).
'a'+'head'='AHEAD'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ahead that I've seen before include "In the future" , "Winning" , "at pole" , "likely to win?" , "What's down the road" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.