Managed to be a candidate (3)
I believe the answer is:
ran
'managed' is the definition.
(both can mean organised or was in charge of)
'a candidate' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found within the answer.
A single letter 'r' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'to be' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ran that I've seen before include "was in charge" , "11 on foot" , "Tore" , "travelled fast" , "Stood for election or managed" .)