Are We Back To Only Next In Line?

To protest a contract award by the federal government, a protester must demonstrate it is an interested party with a "direct economic interest" harmed by a contract award to another. Generally speaking, this economic interest requirement is a higher standard than the ordinary requirement for "standing" needed to bring a case in federal court. To establish interested party status, an unsuccessful offeror must show that, but for the alleged procurement error, it would have had a substantial chance of winning the contract.

Often, when evaluating proposals or bids, federal agencies rank the offerors, and, in doing so, establish a fairly straightforward list of which offerors have a substantial chance of winning. Clearly, the party most likely to demonstrate a substantial chance of winning, and therefore allowing it to proceed with a protest, would be the contractor next in line.