2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
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 2020 U.S. presidential election | |
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| Attempts to overturn | |
| Democratic Party | |
| Republican Party | |
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Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 United States presidential election. The elections took place in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and through Democrats Abroad, and occurred between February 3 and August 11.
A total of 29 major candidates declared their candidacies for the primaries,[3] the largest field of presidential primary candidates for any American political party since the modern primaries began in 1972, exceeding the field of 17 major candidates in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries.[4] Former Vice President Joe Biden led polls throughout 2019, with the exception of a brief period in October when Senator Elizabeth Warren experienced a surge in support.[5] 18 of the 29 declared candidates withdrew before the formal beginning of the primary due to low polling, fundraising, and media coverage. The first primary was marred by controversy, as technical issues with vote reporting resulted in a three-day delay in vote counting in the Iowa caucus, as well as subsequent recounts. The certified results of the caucus eventually showed Mayor Pete Buttigieg winning the most delegates, while Senator Bernie Sanders won the popular vote in the state. Sanders then won the New Hampshire primary in a narrow victory over Buttigieg before handily winning the Nevada caucus, solidifying Sanders' status as the front-runner for the nomination.[6][7]
Biden, whose campaign fortunes had suffered from losses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, made a comeback by overwhelmingly winning the South Carolina primary, motivated by strong support from African American voters, an endorsement from South Carolina U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn, as well as Democratic establishment concerns about nominating Sanders.[8] After Biden won South Carolina, and one day before the Super Tuesday primaries, several candidates dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden in what was viewed as a consolidation of the party's moderate wing. Prior to the announcement, polling saw Sanders leading with a plurality in most Super Tuesday states.[9] Biden then won 10 out of 15 contests on Super Tuesday, beating back challenges from Sanders, Warren, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, solidifying his lead.[9]
On April 8, Biden became the presumptive nominee after Sanders, the only other candidate remaining, withdrew from the race.[10] In early June, Biden passed the threshold of 1,991 delegates to win the nomination.[11][12] Seven candidates received pledged delegates: Biden, Sanders, Warren, Bloomberg, Buttigieg, Senator Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard.[13] On August 11, Biden announced that former presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris would be his running mate.[14] Biden and Harris were officially nominated for president and vice president by delegates at the Democratic National Convention on August 18 and 19.[15][16] Biden and Harris won the presidency and vice presidency in the general election on November 3, defeating the incumbents President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
Biden became the first Democratic candidate since Bill Clinton, and the third ever Democratic candidate,[c] to win the nomination without carrying either Iowa or New Hampshire, the first two states on the primary/caucus calendar.
The primaries were initially scheduled to go through June 6. The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States caused a number of states to shift their primaries to later in the year.
Background[edit]
After Hillary Clinton's loss in the previous election, many felt the Democratic Party lacked a clear leading figure.[17] Divisions remained in the party following the 2016 primaries, which pitted Clinton against Bernie Sanders.[18][19] Between the 2016 election and the 2018 midterm elections, Senate Democrats generally shifted to the political left in relation to college tuition, healthcare, and immigration.[20][21] The 2018 elections saw the Democratic Party regain the House of Representatives for the first time in eight years, picking up seats in both urban and suburban districts.[22][23]
Reforms since 2016[edit]
On August 25, 2018, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) members passed reforms to the Democratic Party's primary process in order to increase participation[24] and ensure transparency.[25] State parties are encouraged to use a government-run primary whenever available and increase the accessibility of their primary through same-day or automatic registration and same-day party switching. Caucuses are required to have absentee voting, or to otherwise allow those who cannot participate in person to be included.[24]
Independent of the results of the primaries and caucuses, the Democratic Party, from its group of party leaders and elected officials, also appointed 771[a] unpledged delegates (superdelegates) to participate in its national convention.
In contrast to all previous election cycles since superdelegates were introduced in 1984, superdelegates will no longer have the right to cast decisive votes on the convention's first ballot for the presidential nomination. They will be allowed to cast non-decisive votes if a candidate has clinched the nomination before the first ballot, or decisive votes on subsequent ballots in a contested convention.[26][27] In that case, the number of votes required shall increase to a majority of pledged and superdelegates combined. Superdelegates are not precluded from publicly endorsing a candidate before the convention.
There were a number of changes to the process of nomination at the state level. A decline in the number of caucuses occurred after 2016. Democrats in Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Washington all switched from various forms of caucuses to primaries. Hawaii, Kansas, and North Dakota switched to party-run "firehouse primaries".[28]
This resulted in the lowest number of caucuses in the Democratic Party's recent history. Only three states (Iowa, Nevada, and Wyoming) and four territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, and U.S. Virgin Islands) used them. Six states were approved in 2019 by the DNC to use ranked-choice voting in the primaries: Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, and Wyoming for all voters; Iowa and Nevada for absentee voters.[29] Rather than eliminating candidates until a single winner is chosen, voters' choices were reallocated until all remaining candidates have at least 15%, the threshold to receive delegates to the convention.[30]
Several states which did not use paper ballots widely in 2016 and 2018, adopted them for the 2020 primary and general elections,[31] to minimize potential interference in vote tallies, a concern raised by intelligence officials,[32] election officials[33] and the public.[34] The move to paper ballots enabled audits to start where they had not been possible before, and in 2020 about half the states audit samples of primary ballots to measure accuracy of the reported results.[35] Audits of caucus results depend on party rules, and the Iowa Democratic party investigated inaccuracies in precinct reports, resolved enough to be sure the delegate allocations were correct, and decided it did not have authority or time to correct all errors.[36][37][38]
Rules for number of delegates[edit]
Number of pledged delegates per state[edit]
The number of pledged delegates from each state is proportional to the state's share of the electoral college, and to the state's past Democratic votes for president.[39][40] Thus less weight is given to swing states and Republican states, while more weight is given to strongly Democratic states, in choosing a nominee.
Six pledged delegates are assigned to each territory, 44 to Puerto Rico, and 12 to Democrats Abroad. Each jurisdiction can also earn bonus delegates by holding primaries after March or in clusters of 3 or more neighboring states.[39]
Within states, a quarter of pledged delegates are allocated to candidates based on statewide vote totals, and the rest typically based on votes in each congressional district, although some states use divisions other than congressional districts. For example, Texas uses state Senate districts.[41][39] Districts which have voted Democratic in the past get more delegates, and fewer delegates are allocated for swing districts and Republican districts.[39] For example, House Speaker Pelosi's strongly Democratic district 12 has 7 delegates, or one per 109,000 people, and a swing district, CA-10, which became Democratic in 2018, has 4 delegates, or one per 190,000 people.[42][43][44]
Candidate threshold[edit]
Candidates who received under 15% of the votes in a state or district didn't get any delegates from that area. Candidates who got 15% or more of the votes divided delegates in proportion to their votes.[42][45] These rules apply at the state level to state delegates and within each district for those delegates. The 15% threshold was established in 1992[46] to limit "fringe" candidates.[47] The threshold now means that any sector of the party (moderate, progressive, etc.) which produces many candidates, thus dividing supporters' votes, may win few delegates, even if it wins a majority of votes.[47][48][46]
Schedule and results[edit]
 February March 3 (Super Tuesday) March 10 March 14–17 March 24–29 April 4–7 April 28 May June  February March 3 (Super Tuesday) March 10 March 14–17 April 7–17 April 28 May June July–August |
| Date (daily totals) | Total pledged delegates | Contest and total popular vote | Delegates won and popular vote | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Biden | Bernie Sanders | Elizabeth Warren | Michael Bloomberg | Pete Buttigieg | Amy Klobuchar | Tulsi Gabbard | Other | |||
| February 3 | 41 | Iowa 172,300[d] | 14[e] 23,605 (13.7%) | 9 45,652 (26.5%) | 5 34,909 (20.3%) | 16 (0.0%) | 12[f] 43,209 (25.1%) | 1 21,100 (12.2%) | 16 (0.0%) | 3,793 (2.2%) |
| February 11 | 24 | New Hampshire 298,377 | 24,944 (8.4%) | 9 76,384 (25.6%) | 27,429 (9.2%) | 4,675 (1.6%) | 9 72,454 (24.3%) | 6 58,714 (19.7%) | 9,755 (3.3%) | 24,022 (8.1%) |
| February 22 | 36 | Nevada 101,543[g] | 9 19,179 (18.9%) | 24 41,075 (40.5%) | 11,703 (11.5%) | 3 17,598 (17.3%) | 7,376 (7.3%) | 32 (0.0%) | 4,580 (4.5%) | |
| February 29 | 54 | South Carolina 539,263 | 39 262,336 (48.7%) | 15 106,605 (19.8%) | 38,120 (7.1%) | 44,217 (8.2%) | 16,900 (3.1%) | 6,813 (1.3%) | 64,272 (11.9%) | |
| March 3 (Super Tuesday) (1,344) | 52 | Alabama 452,093 | 44 286,065 (63.3%) | 8 74,755 (16.5%) | 25,847 (5.7%) | 52,750 (11.7%) | 1,416 (0.3%) | 907 (0.2%) | 1,038 (0.2%) | 9,315 (2.1%) |
| 6 | American Samoa 351 | 31 (8.8%) | 37 (10.5%) | 5 (1.4%) | 4 175 (49.9%) | 2 103 (29.3%) | ||||
| 31 | Arkansas 229,122 | 19[h] 93,012 (40.6%) | 9 51,413 (22.4%) | 22,971 (10.0%) | 3 38,312 (16.7%) | 7,649 (3.3%) | 7,009 (3.1%) | 1,593 (0.7%) | 7,163 (3.1%) | |
| 415 | California 5,784,364 | 172 1,613,854 (27.9%) | 225 2,080,846 (36.0%) | 11 762,555 (13.2%) | 7 701,803 (12.1%) | 249,256 (4.3%) | 126,961 (2.2%) | 33,769 (0.6%) | 215,320 (3.7%) | |
| 67 | Colorado 960,128 | 21 236,565 (24.6%) | 29 355,293 (37.0%) | 8[i] 168,695 (17.6%) | 9[j] 177,727 (18.5%) | 10,037 (1.0%) | 11,811 (1.2%) | |||
| 24 | Maine 205,937 | 13[k] 68,729 (33.4%) | 9 66,826 (32.4%) | 2 32,055 (15.6%) | 24,294 (11.8%) | 4,364 (2.1%) | 2,826 (1.4%) | 1,815 (0.9%) | 5,028 (2.4%) | |
| 91 | Massachusetts 1,418,180 | 45[l] 473,861 (33.4%) | 30 376,990 (26.6%) | 16 303,864 (21.4%) | 166,200 (11.7%) | 38,400 (2.7%) | 17,297 (1.2%) | 10,548 (0.7%) | 31,020 (2.2%) | |
| 75 | Minnesota 744,198 | 43[m] 287,553 (38.6%) | 27 222,431 (29.9%) | 5 114,674 (15.4%) | 61,882 (8.3%) | 7,616 (1.0%) | 41,530 (5.6%) | 2,504 (0.3%) | 6,008 (0.8%) | |
| 110 | North Carolina 1,332,382 | 68 572,271 (43.0%) | 37 322,645 (24.2%) | 2 139,912 (10.5%) | 3 172,558 (13.0%) | 43,632 (3.3%) | 30,742 (2.3%) | 6,622 (0.5%) | 44,000 (3.3%) | |
| 37 | Oklahoma 304,281 | 21 117,633 (38.7%) | 13 77,425 (25.4%) | 1 40,732 (13.4%) | 2 42,270 (13.9%) | 5,115 (1.7%) | 6,733 (2.2%) | 5,109 (1.7%) | 9,264 (3.0%) | |
| 64 | Tennessee 516,250 | 36 215,390 (41.7%) | 22 129,168 (25.0%) | 1 53,732 (10.4%) | 5[n] 79,789 (15.5%) | 17,102 (3.3%) | 10,671 (2.1%) | 2,278 (0.4%) | 8,120 (1.6%) | |
| 228 | Texas 2,094,428 | 113 725,562 (34.6%) | 99 626,339 (29.9%) | 5 239,237 (11.4%) | 11 300,608 (14.4%) | 82,671 (3.9%) | 43,291 (2.1%) | 8,688 (0.4%) | 68,032 (3.2%) | |
| 29 | Utah 220,582 | 7 40,674 (18.4%) | 16 79,728 (36.1%) | 3[o] 35,727 (16.2%) | 3[p] 33,991 (15.4%) | 18,734 (8.5%) | 7,603 (3.4%) | 1,704 (0.8%) | 2,421 (1.1%) | |
| 16 | Vermont 158,032 | 5 34,669 (21.9%) | 11 79,921 (50.6%) | 19,785 (12.5%) | 14,828 (9.4%) | 3,709 (2.3%) | 1,991 (1.3%) | 1,303 (0.8%) | 1,826 (1.2%) | |
| 99 | Virginia 1,323,693 | 67 705,501 (53.3%) | 31 306,388 (23.1%) | 1 142,546 (10.8%) | 128,030 (9.7%) | 11,199 (0.8%) | 8,414 (0.6%) | 11,288 (0.9%) | 10,327 (0.8%) | |
| March 3–10 | 13 | Democrats Abroad 39,984 | 4 9,059 (22.7%) | 9 23,139 (57.9%) | 5,730 (14.3%)[q] | 892 (2.2%)[r] | 616 (1.5%) | 224 (0.6%) | 146 (0.4%) | 178 (0.4%) |
| March 10 (352) | 20 | Idaho 108,649 | 12 53,151 (48.9%) | 8 46,114 (42.4%) | 2,878 (2.6%) | 2,612 (2.4%) | 1,426 (1.3%) | 774 (0.7%) | 876 (0.8%) | 818 (0.8%) |
| 125 | Michigan 1,587,679 | 73 840,360 (52.9%) | 52 576,926 (36.3%) | 26,148 (1.6%) | 73,464 (4.6%) | 22,462 (1.4%) | 11,018 (0.7%) | 9,461 (0.6%) | 27,840 (1.8%) | |
| 36 | Mississippi 274,391 | 34 222,160 (81.0%) | 2 40,657 (14.8%) | 1,550 (0.6%) | 6,933 (2.5%) | 562 (0.2%) | 440 (0.2%) | 1,003 (0.4%) | 1,086 (0.4%) | |
| 68 | Missouri 666,112 | 44 400,347 (60.1%) | 24 230,374 (34.6%) | 8,156 (1.2%) | 9,866 (1.5%) | 3,309 (0.5%) | 2,682 (0.4%) | 4,887 (0.7%) | 6,491 (1.0%) | |
| 14 | North Dakota 14,546 | 6 5,742 (39.5%) | 8 7,682 (52.8%) | 366 (2.5%) | 113 (0.8%) | 164 (1.1%) | 223 (1.5%) | 89 (0.6%) | 167 (1.1%) | |
| 89 | Washington 1,558,776 | 46 591,403 (37.9%) | 43 570,039 (36.6%) | 142,652 (9.2%) | 122,530 (7.9%) | 63,344 (4.1%) | 33,383 (2.1%) | 13,199 (0.9%) | 22,226 (1.4%) | |
| March 14 | 6 | Northern Mariana Islands 134 | 2 48 (35.8%) | 4 84 (62.7%) | 2 (1.5%) | |||||
| March 17 (441) | 67 | Arizona 613,355 | 38 268,029 (43.7%) | 29 200,456 (32.7%) | 35,537 (5.8%) | 58,797 (9.6%)[s] | 24,868 (4.1%) | 10,333 (1.7%)[s] | 3,014 (0.5%) | 12,321 (2.0%) |
| 219 | Florida 1,739,214 | 162 1,077,375 (61.9%) | 57 397,311 (22.8%) | 32,875 (1.9%) | 146,544 (8.4%) | 39,886 (2.3%) | 17,276 (1.0%) | 8,712 (0.5%) | 19,235 (1.1%) | |
| 155 | Illinois 1,674,133 | 95 986,661 (58.9%) | 60 605,701 (36.2%) | 24,413 (1.5%) | 25,500 (1.5%) | 9,729 (0.6%) | 9,642 (0.6%) | 12,487 (0.7%) | ||
| April 7 | 84 | Wisconsin 925,065 | 56 581,463 (62.9%) | 28 293,441 (31.7%) | 14,060 (1.5%) | 8,846 (1.0%) | 4,946 (0.5%) | 6,079 (0.7%) | 5,565 (0.6%) | 10,665 (1.2%) |
| April 10 | 15 | Alaska 19,759[t] | 8 10,834 (54.8%) | 7 8,755 (44.3%) | Eliminated 7th | Eliminated 3rd | Eliminated 6th | Eliminated 5th | Eliminated 4th | 170 (0.9%)[u] |
| April 17 | 14 | Wyoming 15,391[t] | 10 10,912 (70.9%) | 4 4,206 (27.3%) | Eliminated 7th | Eliminated 5th | Eliminated 6th | Eliminated 4th | Eliminated 2nd | 273 (1.8%)[u] |
| April 28 | 136 | Ohio 894,383 | 115 647,284 (72.4%) | 21 149,683 (16.7%) | 30,985 (3.5%) | 28,704 (3.2%) | 15,113 (1.7%) | 11,899 (1.3%) | 4,560 (0.5%) | 6,155 (0.7%) |
| May 2 | 39 | Kansas 146,873[t] | 29 110,041 (74.9%) | 10 33,142 (22.6%) | Eliminated 3rd | Eliminated 1st | 3,690 (2.5%)[u] | |||
| May 12 | 29 | Nebraska 164,582 | 29 126,444 (76.8%) | 23,214 (14.1%) | 10,401 (6.3%) | 4,523 (2.7%) | ||||
| May 19 | 61 | Oregon 618,711 | 46 408,315 (66.0%) | 15 127,345 (20.6%) | 59,355 (9.6%) | 10,717 (1.7%) | 12,979 (2.1%) | |||
| May 22 | 24 | Hawaii 35,044[t] | 16 21,215 (60.5%) | 8 12,337 (35.2%) | Eliminated 9th | Eliminated 7th | Eliminated 5th | Eliminated 3rd | Eliminated 8th | 1,492 (4.3%)[u] |
| June 2 (479) | 20 | District of Columbia 110,688 | 19 84,093 (76.0%) | 11,116 (10.0%) | 1 14,228 (12.9%) | 442 (0.4%) | 809 (0.7%) | |||
| 82 | Indiana 497,927 | 80 380,836 (76.5%) | 2 67,688 (13.6%) | 14,344 (2.9%) | 4,783 (1.0%) | 17,957 (3.6%) | 3,860 (0.8%) | 2,657 (0.5%) | 5,802 (1.2%) | |
| 96 | Maryland 1,050,773 | 96 879,753 (83.7%) | 81,939 (7.8%) | 27,134 (2.6%) | 6,773 (0.6%) | 7,180 (0.7%) | 5,685 (0.5%) | 4,226 (0.4%) | 38,083 (3.6%) | |
| 19 | Montana 149,973 | 18 111,706 (74.5%) | 1 22,033 (14.7%) | 11,984 (8.0%) | 4,250 (2.8%) | |||||
| 34 | New Mexico 247,880 | 30 181,700 (73.3%) | 4 37,435 (15.1%) | 14,552 (5.9%) | 2,735 (1.1%) | 11,458 (4.6%) | ||||
| 186 | Pennsylvania 1,595,508 | 151 1,264,624 (79.3%) | 35 287,834 (18.0%) | 43,050 (2.7%) | ||||||
| 26 | Rhode Island 103,982 | 25 79,728 (76.7%) | 1 15,525 (14.9%) | 4,479 (4.3%) | 651 (0.6%) | 3,599 (3.5%) | ||||
| 16 | South Dakota 52,661 | 13 40,800 (77.5%) | 3 11,861 (22.5%) | |||||||
| June 6 (14) | 7 | Guam 388 | 5 270 (69.6%) | 2 118 (30.4%) | ||||||
| 7 | U.S. Virgin Islands 550 | 7 502 (91.3%) | 28 (5.1%) | 20 (3.6%) | ||||||
| June 9 (133) | 105 | Georgia 1,086,729[v] | 105 922,177 (84.9%) | 101,668 (9.4%) | 21,906 (2.0%) | 7,657 (0.7%) | 6,346 (0.6%) | 4,317 (0.4%) | 4,117 (0.4%) | 18,541 (1.7%) |
| 28 | West Virginia 187,482 | 28 122,518 (65.3%) | 22,793 (12.2%) | 5,741 (3.1%) | 3,759 (2.0%) | 3,455 (1.8%) | 3,011 (1.6%) | 4,163 (2.2%) | 22,042 (11.8%) | |
| June 23 (328) | 54 | Kentucky 537,905 | 52 365,284 (67.9%) | 65,055 (12.1%) | 15,300 (2.8%) | 9,127 (1.7%) | 5,296 (1.0%) | 5,859 (1.1%) | 2[w] 71,984 (13.4%) | |
| 274 | New York 1,759,039 | 230 1,136,679 (64.6%) | 44[x] 285,908 (16.3%) | 82,917 (4.7%) | 39,433 (2.2%) | 22,927 (1.3%) | 11,028 (0.6%) | 9,083 (0.5%) | 171,064 (9.7%) | |
| July 7 (147) | 21 | Delaware 91,682 | 21 81,954 (89.4%) | 6,878 (7.5%) | 2,850 (3.1%) | |||||
| 126 | New Jersey 958,762 | 121 814,188 (84.9%) | 5[y] 140,412 (14.6%) | 4,162 (0.4%) | ||||||
| July 11 | 54 | Louisiana 267,286 | 54 212,555 (79.5%) | 19,859 (7.4%) | 6,426 (2.4%) | 4,312 (1.6%) | 2,363 (0.9%) | 2,431 (0.9%) | 1,962 (0.7%) | 17,378 (6.5%) |
| July 12 | 51 | Puerto Rico 7,022 | 44 3,930 (56.0%) | 5 932 (13.3%) | 101 (1.4%) | 2 894 (12.7%) | 158 (2.3%) | 31 (0.4%) | 194 (2.8%) | 782 (11.1%) |
| August 11 | 60 | Connecticut 264,416 | 60 224,500 (84.9%) | 30,512 (11.5%) | 3,429 (1.3%) | 5,975 (2.3%) | ||||
| Total 3,979 pledged delegates 36,922,938 votes | 2,720 19,080,074 (51.68%) | 1,114[z] 9,680,121 (26.22%) | 61[aa] 2,831,566 (7.67%) | 49[ab] 2,552,320 (6.91%) | 24[ac] 924,279 (2.50%) | 7 540,055 (1.46%) | 2 273,977 (0.74%) | 2 1,040,546 (2.82%) | ||
Election day postponements and cancellations[edit]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, a number of presidential primaries were rescheduled. On April 27, New York canceled its primary altogether on the grounds that there was only one candidate left with an active campaign. Andrew Yang responded with a lawsuit, arguing that the decision infringes on voting rights,[64] and in early May, the judge ruled in favor of Yang.[65]
| Primary | Original schedule | Altered schedule | Vote in person? | Last changed | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | March 17 | April 28[ad] | Canceled | March 25 | [66][67] |
| Georgia | March 24 | June 9 | Held | April 9 | [68][69] |
| Puerto Rico | March 29 | July 12 | Held | May 21 | [70][71][72] |
| Alaska | April 4 | April 10[ae] | Canceled | March 23 | [73] |
| Wyoming | April 4 | April 17[af] | Canceled | March 22 | [74] |
| Hawaii | April 4 | May 22[ag] | Canceled | March 27 | [75][76][77] |
| Louisiana | April 4 | July 11[ah] | Held | April 14 | [78][79] |
| Maryland | April 28 | June 2 | Held | March 17 | [80] |
| Pennsylvania | April 28 | June 2 | Held | March 27 | [81] |
| Rhode Island | April 28 | June 2 | Held | March 23 | [82] |
| New York | April 28 | June 23 | Held | April 27 | [83][84][85] |
| Delaware | April 28 | July 7 | Held | May 7 | [86][87] |
| Connecticut | April 28 | August 11 | Held | April 17 | [88] |
| Kansas | May 2 | May 2[ai] | Canceled | March 30 | [89] |
| Guam | May 2 | June 6 | Held | June 4 | [90] |
| Indiana | May 5 | June 2 | Held | March 20 | [91] |
| West Virginia | May 12 | June 9 | Held | April 1 | [92] |
| Kentucky | May 19 | June 23 | Held | March 16 | [93] |
| New Jersey | June 2 | July 7[aj] | Held | April 8 | [94] |
In addition, the DNC elected to delay the 2020 Democratic National Convention from July 13–16 to August 17–20.[95]
Candidates[edit]
Major candidates in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries had held significant elective office or received substantial media coverage.
Nearly 300 candidates who did not receive significant media coverage also filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for president in the primary.[96]
Nominee[edit]
| Candidate | Born | Most recent position | State | Campaign announced | Pledged delegates[97] | Popular vote[98] | Contests won | Article | Running mate | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Joe Biden | November 20, 1942 (age 77) Scranton, Pennsylvania | Vice President of the United States (2009–2017) |  Delaware | April 25, 2019 | 2,687 | 18,431,136 (51.48%) | 46 (AL, AK, AZ, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, GU, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VI, WA, WV, WI, WY) |  __________ Campaign FEC filing Secured nomination: June 5, 2020 | Kamala Harris | [99] | |
Withdrew during the primaries[edit]
| Candidate | Born | Most recent position | State | Campaign announced | Campaign suspended | Delegates won[97] | Popular vote[98] | Contests won | Article | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Bernie Sanders | September 8, 1941 (age 78) Brooklyn, New York | U.S. senator from Vermont (2007–present) |  Vermont | February 19, 2019 | April 8, 2020 (endorsed Biden as presumptive nominee)[100] | 1,073 | 9,679,213 (26.63%) | 9 (CA, CO, DA, NV, NH, ND, MP, UT, VT) |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [101][102] | |
_(cropped).jpg) Tulsi Gabbard | April 12, 1981 (age 39) Leloaloa, American Samoa | U.S. representative from HI-02 (2013–2021) |  Hawaii | January 11, 2019 | March 19, 2020 (endorsed Biden)[103] | 2 | 273,940 (0.76%) | 0 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [104][105] | |
.jpg) Elizabeth Warren | June 22, 1949 (age 71) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | U.S. senator from Massachusetts (2013–present) |  Massachusetts | February 9, 2019 Exploratory committee: December 31, 2018 | March 5, 2020 (endorsed Biden as presumptive nominee)[106] | 63 | 2,780,873 (7.77%) | 0 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [107][108] | |
.jpg) Michael Bloomberg | February 14, 1942 (age 78) Boston, Massachusetts | Mayor of New York City, New York (2002–2013) CEO of Bloomberg L.P. |  New York | November 24, 2019 Exploratory committee: November 21, 2019 | March 4, 2020 (endorsed Biden)[109] | 59 | 2,475,130 (6.92%) | 1 (AS) |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [110][111] | |
.jpg) Amy Klobuchar | May 25, 1960 (age 60) Plymouth, Minnesota | U.S. senator from Minnesota (2007–present) |  Minnesota | February 10, 2019 | March 2, 2020 (endorsed Biden)[112] | 7 | 524,400 (1.47%) | 0 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [113][112] | |
.jpg) Pete Buttigieg | January 19, 1982 (age 38) South Bend, Indiana | Mayor of South Bend, Indiana (2012–2020) |  Indiana | April 14, 2019 Exploratory committee: January 23, 2019 | March 1, 2020 (endorsed Biden)[114] | 21 | 912,214 (2.55%) | 1 (IA) | .svg){kind=logo} __________ Campaign FEC filing | [115][116] | |
 Tom Steyer | June 27, 1957 (age 63) Manhattan, New York | Hedge fund manager Founder of Farallon Capital and Beneficial State Bank |  California | July 9, 2019 | February 29, 2020 (endorsed Biden as presumptive nominee)[117] | 0 | 258,848 (0.72%) | 0 | .svg){kind=logo} __________ Campaign FEC filing | [118][119] | |
.jpg) Deval Patrick | July 31, 1956 (age 64) Chicago, Illinois | Governor of Massachusetts (2007–2015) | Massachusetts | November 14, 2019 | February 12, 2020 (endorsed Biden)[120] | 0 | 27,116 (0.08%) | 0 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [121][122] | |
 Michael Bennet | November 28, 1964 (age 55) New Delhi, India | U.S. senator from Colorado (2009–present) |  Colorado | May 2, 2019 | February 11, 2020 (endorsed Biden as presumptive nominee)[123] | 0 | 62,260 (0.17%) | 0 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [124][125] | |
.jpg) Andrew Yang | January 13, 1975 (age 45) Schenectady, New York | Entrepreneur Founder of Venture for America | New York | November 6, 2017 | February 11, 2020 (endorsed Biden)[126] | 0 | 160,231 (0.45%) | 0 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [127][128] | |
Other notable individuals who were not major candidates terminated their campaigns during the primaries:
- Henry Hewes, real estate developer; Right to Life nominee for Mayor of New York City in 1989 and U.S. Senate from New York in 1994[129][130]
- Sam Sloan, chess player and publisher[131] (Ran for Congress in NY-14)[132]
- Robby Wells, former college football coach; Independent candidate for president in 2016[133][134]
Withdrew before the primaries[edit]
| Candidate | Born | Experience | State | Campaign announced | Campaign suspended | Popular vote | Article | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 John Delaney | April 16, 1963 (age 57) Wood-Ridge, New Jersey | U.S. representative from MD-06 (2013–2019) |  Maryland | July 28, 2017 | January 31, 2020 (endorsed Biden)[135] | 19,342 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [136][137] |
 Cory Booker | April 27, 1969 (age 51) Washington, D.C. | U.S. senator from New Jersey (2013–present) Mayor of Newark, New Jersey (2006–2013) |  New Jersey | February 1, 2019 | January 13, 2020 (ran successfully for reelection)[138] (endorsed Biden)[139] | 31,575 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [140][141] |
 Marianne Williamson | July 8, 1952 (age 68) Houston, Texas | Author Founder of Project Angel Food Independent candidate for U.S. House from CA-33 in 2014 | California | January 28, 2019 Exploratory committee: November 15, 2018 | January 10, 2020 (endorsed Sanders, then Biden as nominee)[142][143] | 22,334 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [144][145] |
 Julián Castro | September 16, 1974 (age 45) San Antonio, Texas | Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (2014–2017) Mayor of San Antonio, Texas (2009–2014) |  Texas | January 12, 2019 Exploratory committee: December 12, 2018 | January 2, 2020 (endorsed Warren, then Biden as presumptive nominee)[146][147] | 37,037 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [148][149] |
 Kamala Harris | October 20, 1964 (age 55) Oakland, California | U.S. senator from California (2017–2021) Attorney General of California (2011–2017) | California | January 21, 2019 | December 3, 2019 (endorsed Biden[150] who later chose Harris as his vice presidential running-mate) | 844 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [151][152] |
 Steve Bullock | April 11, 1966 (age 54) Missoula, Montana | Governor of Montana (2013–2021) Attorney General of Montana (2009–2013) |  Montana | May 14, 2019 | December 2, 2019 (ran for U.S. Senate; lost election, endorsed Biden as nominee)[153] | 549 |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [154][155] |
_(cropped).jpg) Joe Sestak | December 12, 1951 (age 68) Secane, Pennsylvania | U.S. representative from PA-07 (2007–2011) Former Vice Admiral of the United States Navy |  Virginia | June 23, 2019 | December 1, 2019 (endorsed Klobuchar, then Biden as nominee)[156][157] | 5,251 | Campaign FEC filing | [158][159] |
.jpg) Wayne Messam | June 7, 1974 (age 46) South Bay, Florida | Mayor of Miramar, Florida (2015–present) |  Florida | March 28, 2019 Exploratory committee: March 13, 2019 | November 19, 2019 | 0[ak] |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [160][161] |
 Beto O'Rourke | September 26, 1972 (age 47) El Paso, Texas | U.S. representative from TX-16 (2013–2019) | Texas | March 14, 2019 | November 1, 2019 (endorsed Biden)[162] | 1[ak][163] |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [164][165] |
 Tim Ryan | July 16, 1973 (age 47) Niles, Ohio | U.S. representative from OH-13 (2013–2023) U.S. representative from OH-17 (2003–2013) |  Ohio | April 4, 2019 | October 24, 2019 (ran successfully for reelection)[166] (endorsed Biden)[167] | 0[ak] |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [168][169] |
 Bill de Blasio | May 8, 1961 (age 59) Manhattan, New York | Mayor of New York City, New York (2014–2021) | New York | May 16, 2019 | September 20, 2019 (endorsed Sanders, then Biden as presumptive nominee)[170][171] | 0[ak] |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [172][173] |
 Kirsten Gillibrand | December 9, 1966 (age 53) Albany, New York | U.S. senator from New York (2009–present) U.S. representative from NY-20 (2007–2009) | New York | March 17, 2019 Exploratory committee: January 15, 2019 | August 28, 2019 (endorsed Biden)[174] | 0[ak] |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [175][176] |
 Seth Moulton | October 24, 1978 (age 41) Salem, Massachusetts | U.S. representative from MA-06 (2015–present) | Massachusetts | April 22, 2019 | August 23, 2019 (ran successfully for reelection)[177] (endorsed Biden)[178] | 0[ak] |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [179][180] |
 Jay Inslee | February 9, 1951 (age 69) Seattle, Washington | Governor of Washington (2013–present) U.S. representative from WA-01 (1999–2012) U.S. representative from WA-04 (1993–1995) |  Washington | March 1, 2019 | August 21, 2019 (ran successfully for reelection)[181] (endorsed Biden as presumptive nominee)[182] | 1[ak][183] |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [184][185] |
 John Hickenlooper | February 7, 1952 (age 68) Narberth, Pennsylvania | Governor of Colorado (2011–2019) Mayor of Denver, Colorado (2003–2011) | Colorado | March 4, 2019 | August 15, 2019 (ran successfully for U.S. Senate)[186] (endorsed Bennet, then Biden as presumptive nominee)[187][188] | 1[ak][183] |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [189][190] |
 Mike Gravel | May 13, 1930 (aged 90) Springfield, Massachusetts | U.S. senator from Alaska (1969–1981) Candidate for president in 2008 Candidate for Vice President in 1972 | California | April 2, 2019 Exploratory committee: March 19, 2019 | August 6, 2019 (co-endorsed Gabbard and Sanders)[191] | 0[ak] |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [192][191] |
_(cropped).jpg) Eric Swalwell | November 16, 1980 (age 39) Sac City, Iowa | U.S. representative from CA-15 (2013–2023) | California | April 8, 2019 | July 8, 2019[193] (ran successfully for reelection) (endorsed Biden)[194][195] | 0[ak] |  __________ Campaign FEC filing | [196][197] |
 Richard Ojeda | September 25, 1970 (age 49) Rochester, Minnesota | West Virginia state senator from WV-SD07 (2016–2019) |  West Virginia | November 11, 2018 | January 25, 2019 (ran for U.S. Senate; lost primary)[198] (endorsed Biden)[199] | 0[ak] | [200][201] |
Other notable individuals who were not major candidates terminated their campaigns before the primaries:
- Ben Gleib, actor, comedian, satirist, and writer[202][203][204]
- Ami Horowitz, conservative activist and documentary filmmaker (endorsed Donald Trump)[205][206][207]
- Brian Moore, activist; Green nominee for U.S. Senate from Florida in 2006; Socialist and Liberty Union nominee for president in 2008[130]
- Ken Nwadike Jr., documentary filmmaker, motivational speaker, and peace activist[208][209][failed verification]
Political positions[edit]
Debates and forums[edit]
In December 2018, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced the schedule for 12 official DNC-sanctioned debates, set to begin in June 2019, with six debates in 2019 and the remaining six during the first four months of 2020. Candidates were allowed to participate in forums featuring multiple other candidates as long as only one candidate appeared on stage at a time. Any presidential candidates who participated in unsanctioned debates with each other would have lost their invitations to the next DNC-sanctioned debate.[210][211] No unsanctioned debates took place during the 2019—2020 debate season.
The DNC also announced that it would not partner with Fox News as a media sponsor for any debates.[212][213] Fox News last held a Democratic debate in 2003.[214] All media sponsors selected to host a debate were as a new rule required to appoint at least one female moderator for each debate, to ensure there would not be a gender-skewed treatment of the candidates and debate topics.[215]
Primary election polling[edit]
The following graph depicts the standing of each candidate in the poll aggregators from December 2018 to April 2020.
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
|
Italics indicate withdrawn candidates; bold indicates events.
Timeline[edit]
 |
|
Ballot access[edit]
Filing for the primaries began in October 2019.[257][258] 
indicates that the candidate was on the ballot for the primary contest, 
indicates that the candidate was a recognized write-in candidate, and 
indicates that the candidate did not appear on the ballot in that state's contest. 
indicates that a candidate withdrew before the election but was still listed on the ballot.
| State/ Territory | Date | Ref | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IA[al] | Feb 3 | Ballot access not required | [259] | |||||||||||
| NH | Feb 11 |  | | | |  | | | | | | | [A] | [130][260] |
| NV[al] | Feb 22 | | | | |  | | | |  | | | [B] | [261] |
| SC | Feb 29 | | | | | | | | | | | | [C] | [262] |
| AL | Mar 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | [D] | [263] |
| AR | Mar 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | [E] | [264] |
| AS[al] | Mar 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | [265] |
| CA | Mar 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | [F] | [266] |
| CO | Mar 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | [G] | [267] |
| ME | Mar 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | [H] | [268] |
| MA | Mar 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | [D] | [269] |
| MN | Mar 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | [D] | [270] |
| NC | Mar 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | [D] | [271] |
| OK | Mar 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | [I] | [272] |
| TN | Mar 3 | | | | | | ||||||||