2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
The 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses were a series of electoral contests organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention. These delegates would determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 United States presidential election. The primaries and caucuses took place in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and Democrats Abroad between February 3 and August 11, 2020.
Overview
The primary season was marked by several significant developments, including a crowded initial field of 29 major candidates, technical difficulties at the Iowa caucuses, a dramatic shift in momentum following the South Carolina primary, and substantial disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Former Vice President Joe Biden emerged as the nominee, defeating his primary challenger Senator Bernie Sanders and numerous other candidates.
Background and Reforms
Following Hillary Clinton's loss in the 2016 presidential election, the Democratic Party implemented significant reforms to its primary process. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) passed changes in August 2018 aimed at increasing participation and transparency. Key reforms included:
- Reducing the power of superdelegates, who could no longer vote on the first ballot at the convention unless a candidate had already clinched the nomination
- Encouraging states to use government-run primaries instead of caucuses
- Requiring caucuses to offer absentee voting options
- Implementing ranked-choice voting in several states
The number of caucus states decreased significantly from 2016, with only three states (Iowa, Nevada, and Wyoming) and four territories retaining the caucus system.
Major Candidates
Nominee
- Joe Biden, former Vice President of the United States (2009–2017)
- Delegates won: 2,720
- Popular vote: 19,080,074 (51.68%)
- Selected Kamala Harris as running mate
Major Competitors
- Bernie Sanders (1,114 delegates)
- Elizabeth Warren (61 delegates)
- Michael Bloomberg (49 delegates)
- Pete Buttigieg (24 delegates)
- Amy Klobuchar (7 delegates)
- Tulsi Gabbard (2 delegates)
Campaign Timeline
Early Contests
- Iowa Caucuses (February 3)
- Marked by technical difficulties and delayed results
- Pete Buttigieg won the most delegates
- Bernie Sanders won the popular vote
- New Hampshire Primary (February 11)
- Bernie Sanders victory
- Pete Buttigieg close second
- Nevada Caucuses (February 22)
- Decisive Bernie Sanders victory
- Established Sanders as frontrunner
- South Carolina Primary (February 29)
- Joe Biden's decisive victory
- Marked major turning point in campaign
- Influenced by Rep. James Clyburn's endorsement
Super Tuesday and Beyond
Super Tuesday (March 3) proved to be a decisive moment in the campaign, with Biden winning 10 out of 14 states, establishing himself as the clear frontrunner. This followed the withdrawal and endorsements of several moderate candidates, including Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar.
The primary campaign effectively ended on April 8, when Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign, making Biden the presumptive nominee. Biden officially secured the nomination in early June by surpassing the threshold of 1,991 delegates.
Impact of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted the primary calendar, leading to:
- Postponement of numerous state primaries
- Conversion of many in-person voting systems to mail-in ballots
- Delay of the Democratic National Convention from July to August
- Transition to a virtual convention format
Campaign Finance
The major candidates raised a combined total of approximately $989 million through February 2020. Notable fundraising included:
- Michael Bloomberg: $1.06 billion (largely self-funded)
- Bernie Sanders: $214.9 million
- Joe Biden: $134.8 million
- Elizabeth Warren: $128.4 million
Debates
The DNC organized 11 official debates between June 2019 and March 2020. Key features included:
- Required female moderators at each debate
- Qualification thresholds based on polling and donor numbers
- Exclusion of Fox News as a media sponsor
- Final debate held without an audience due to COVID-19
Convention
The 2020 Democratic National Convention was held from August 17-20, primarily in a virtual format due to the pandemic. The event, themed "Convention Across America," featured:
- Remote voting procedures
- Virtual speeches and events
- Official nomination of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
Historical Significance
The 2020 Democratic primaries were notable for several historical aspects:
- First major party nomination process significantly impacted by a global pandemic
- Largest initial field of candidates in Democratic Party history
- First time a former vice president won the nomination without winning Iowa or New Hampshire
- Selection of the first woman of color (Kamala Harris) as vice presidential nominee on a major party ticket
Outcome
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won both the nomination and the subsequent general election, defeating incumbents Donald Trump and Mike Pence. The primary process demonstrated the Democratic Party's ability to adapt to unprecedented circumstances while maintaining a competitive and democratic selection process.
Schedule and results
Main article: Results of the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
| 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 |
14
23,605 (13.7%) |
9
45,652 (26.5%) |
5
34,909 (20.3%) |
16 (0.0%) | 12
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 |
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
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
168,695 (17.6%) |
9
177,727 (18.5%) |
10,037 (1.0%) | 11,811 (1.2%) | |||
| 24 | Maine
205,937 |
13
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
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
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
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
35,727 (16.2%) |
3
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%) | 892 (2.2%) | 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%) | 24,868 (4.1%) | 10,333 (1.7%) | 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 |
8
10,834 (54.8%) |
7
8,755 (44.3%) |
Eliminated 7th | Eliminated 3rd | Eliminated 6th | Eliminated 5th | Eliminated 4th | 170 (0.9%) |
| April 17 | 14 | Wyoming
15,391 |
10
10,912 (70.9%) |
4
4,206 (27.3%) |
Eliminated 7th | Eliminated 5th | Eliminated 6th | Eliminated 4th | Eliminated 2nd | 273 (1.8%) |
| 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 |
29
110,041 (74.9%) |
10
33,142 (22.6%) |
Eliminated 3rd | Eliminated 1st | 3,690 (2.5%) | |||
| 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 |
16
21,215 (60.5%) |
8
12,337 (35.2%) |
Eliminated 9th | Eliminated 7th | Eliminated 5th | Eliminated 3rd | Eliminated 8th | 1,492 (4.3%) |
| 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 |
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
71,984 (13.4%) | |
| 274 | New York
1,759,039 |
230
1,136,679 (64.6%) |
44
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
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
9,680,121 (26.22%) |
61
2,831,566 (7.67%) |
49
2,552,320 (6.91%) |
24
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] Main article: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics § Impact on elections
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, and in early May, the judge ruled in favor of Yang.
| Primary | Original
schedule |
Altered
schedule |
Vote in
person? |
Last
changed |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | March 17 | April 28 | Canceled | March 25 | |
| Georgia | March 24 | June 9 | Held | April 9 | |
| Puerto Rico | March 29 | July 12 | Held | May 21 | |
| Alaska | April 4 | April 10 | Canceled | March 23 | |
| Wyoming | April 4 | April 17 | Canceled | March 22 | |
| Hawaii | April 4 | May 22 | Canceled | March 27 | |
| Louisiana | April 4 | July 11 | Held | April 14 | |
| Maryland | April 28 | June 2 | Held | March 17 | |
| Pennsylvania | April 28 | June 2 | Held | March 27 | |
| Rhode Island | April 28 | June 2 | Held | March 23 | |
| New York | April 28 | June 23 | Held | April 27 | |
| Delaware | April 28 | July 7 | Held | May 7 | |
| Connecticut | April 28 | August 11 | Held | April 17 | |
| Kansas | May 2 | May 2 | Canceled | March 30 | |
| Guam | May 2 | June 6 | Held | June 4 | |
| Indiana | May 5 | June 2 | Held | March 20 | |
| West Virginia | May 12 | June 9 | Held | April 1 | |
| Kentucky | May 19 | June 23 | Held | March 16 | |
| New Jersey | June 2 | July 7 | Held | April 8 |
In addition, the DNC elected to delay the 2020 Democratic National Convention from July 13–16 to August 17–20.