2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries


The 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses are a series of electoral contests organized by the Democratic Party to select the approximately 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Those delegates will elect the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. If a candidate amasses at least 1,991 pledged delegates by the DNC convention in August, they will be the nominee. The elections are taking place from February to August 2020 in all fifty U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and among Democrats Abroad.
Independent of the results of the primaries and caucuses, the Democratic Party will, from its group of party leaders and elected officials, also appoint 771 unpledged delegates 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 at 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.
Overall, there were 29 major Democratic presidential candidates in the 2020 election, and for six weeks around July 2019, 25 of these had active campaigns simultaneously. On April 8, 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden became the presumptive nominee after Senator Bernie Sanders, the only other major candidate left, suspended his campaign and endorsed Biden a few days later. In early June 2020, Biden passed the threshold of 1,991 delegates to gain the nomination at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Background

After Hillary Clinton's loss in the previous election, many felt the Democratic Party lacked a clear leading figure. Divisions remained in the party following the 2016 primaries, which pitted Clinton against Bernie Sanders. 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. 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.
The 2020 field of Democratic presidential candidates peaked at more than two dozen major candidates. According to Politifact, this field is believed to be the largest field of presidential candidates for any American political party since 1972; it exceeds the field of 17 major candidates who sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. In May 2019, CBS News referred to the field of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates as "the largest and most diverse Democratic primary field in modern history", including six major female presidential candidates and seven major candidates of African, Hispanic, Asian, or Pacific Islander ancestry.

Reforms since 2016

On August 25, 2018, the Democratic National Committee members passed reforms to the Democratic Party's primary process in order to increase participation and ensure transparency. 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.
The reforms mandate that automatic delegates refrain from voting on the first presidential nominating ballot, unless a candidate via the outcome of primaries and caucuses already has gained a majority of all delegates, including superdelegates.
In a contested convention where no majority of minimum pledged delegate votes is found for a single candidate on the first ballot, all superdelegates will then regain their right to vote on any subsequent ballot necessary in order for a presidential candidate to be nominated, wherein the number of votes required shall increase to a majority of pledged and superdelegates combined. Superdelegates are not precluded from publicly endorsing a candidate of their choosing before the convention.
There were also a number of changes to the process of nomination at the state level. A decline in the number of caucuses occurred after 2016, with Democrats in Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Washington all switching from various forms of caucuses to primaries. This has resulted in the lowest number of caucuses in the Democratic Party's recent history, with only three states and four territories using them. In addition, 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. Rather than eliminating candidates until a single winner is chosen, voters' choices would be reallocated until all remaining candidates have at least 15%, the threshold to receive delegates to the convention.
Several states which did not use paper ballots widely in 2016 and 2018, adopted them for the 2020 primary and general elections,
to minimize potential interference in vote tallies, a concern raised by intelligence officials,
election officials
and the public.
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.
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.

Rules for number of delegates

Number of pledged delegates per state

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. 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.
Within states, a quarter of pledged delegates are allocated to candidates based on statewide vote totals, and the rest based on votes in each Congressional District, though some states use divisions other than congressional districts. For example, Texas uses state Senate districts. Districts which have voted Democratic in the past get more delegates, and fewer delegates are allocated for swing districts and Republican districts. 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.

Candidate threshold

Candidates who get under 15% of the votes in a state or district get no delegates from that area. Candidates who get 15% or more of the votes divide delegates in proportion to their votes. These rules apply at the state level to state delegates and within each district for those delegates. The 15% threshold was established in 1992 to limit "fringe" candidates. The threshold now means that any sector of the party which produces many candidates, thus dividing supporters' votes, may win few delegates, even if it wins a majority of votes.

Schedule and results

Close races

States where the margin of victory was under 1%:
  1. Maine, 0.92%
States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
  1. New Hampshire, 1.31%
  2. Washington, 1.37%
  3. Iowa, 1.42%
  4. Texas, 4.73%
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
  1. Idaho, 6.48%
  2. Massachusetts, 6.83%
  3. California, 8.07%
  4. Minnesota, 8.75%

    Election day postponements and cancellations

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, a number of presidential primaries were rescheduled. Some have also cancelled in-person voting entirely. On April 27, New York cancelled its voting by mail as well 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.
PrimaryOriginal
schedule		Altered
schedule		Vote in
person?		Last
changed
OhioMarch 17April 28March 25
GeorgiaMarch 24June 9April 9
Puerto RicoMarch 29July 12May 21
AlaskaApril 4April 10March 23
WyomingApril 4April 17March 22
HawaiiApril 4May 22March 27
LouisianaApril 4July 11April 14
MarylandApril 28June 2March 17
PennsylvaniaApril 28June 2March 27
Rhode IslandApril 28June 2March 23
New YorkApril 28June 23April 27
DelawareApril 28July 7May 7
ConnecticutApril 28August 11April 17
KansasMay 2May 2March 30
GuamMay 2June 6June 4
IndianaMay 5June 2March 20
West VirginiaMay 12June 9April 1
KentuckyMay 19June 23March 16
New JerseyJune 2July 7April 8

In addition, the DNC elected to delay the 2020 Democratic National Convention from July 13–16 to August 17–20.

Candidates

Major candidates in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries have either: served as vice president, a member of the cabinet, a U.S. senator, a U.S. representative, or a governor, been included in a minimum of five independent national polls, or received substantial media coverage. one major candidate is still in the race.
Nearly 300 candidates who did not meet the criteria to be deemed "major" also filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for president in the Democratic Party primary.

Presumptive nominee


Withdrew during the primaries



Other notable individuals who did not meet the criteria to become major candidates also terminated their campaigns during the primaries:
  • Robby Wells, former college football coach; Independent candidate for president in 2016
  • Sam Sloan, chess player and publisher
Other notable individuals who did not meet the criteria to become major candidates but still have active campaigns include:

Withdrew before the primaries


The following notable individuals who did not meet the criteria to become major candidates also terminated their campaigns before the primaries:

Debates and forums

Primary election polling

Timeline

2017

In the weeks following the election of Donald Trump in the 2016 election, media speculation regarding potential candidates for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries began to circulate. As the Senate began confirmation hearings for members of the cabinet, speculation centered on the prospects of the "hell-no caucus", six senators who went on to vote against the majority of Trump's nominees. According to Politico, the members of the "hell-no caucus" were Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley, and Elizabeth Warren. Other speculation centered on then-Vice-President Joe Biden making a third presidential bid following failed attempts in 1988 and 2008.
  • July 28: Representative John Delaney of Maryland announced his candidacy in an op-ed in The Washington Post, which broke the record for earliest major candidacy declaration in history.
  • November 6: Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang of New York announced his candidacy.

    2018

In August 2018, Democratic Party officials and television networks began discussions as to the nature and scheduling of the following year's debates and the nomination process. Changes were made to the role of superdelegates, deciding to allow them to vote on the first ballot only if the nomination is uncontested. The Democratic National Committee announced the preliminary schedule for the 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.

November 2018

  • November 6: The 2018 midterm elections were held. The election was widely characterized as a "blue wave" election. Mass canvassing, voter registration drives and deep engagement techniques drove turnout high. Despite this, eventual presidential candidates U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke of Texas and State Senator Richard Ojeda of West Virginia both lost their respective races.
  • November 11: Former state senator Richard Ojeda of West Virginia announced his candidacy.

    December 2018

  • December 31: U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts announced the formation of an exploratory committee to run for president.

    2019

January 2019

January 2020

  • January 2: Julián Castro dropped out of the race. He later endorsed Elizabeth Warren's campaign.
  • January 10: Marianne Williamson dropped out of the race. She later endorsed Sanders.
  • January 13: Booker dropped out of the race.
  • January 14: The seventh Democratic debate took place in Des Moines, Iowa, at Drake University.
  • January 17: The first votes were cast as no-excuse, in-person absentee voting in the Minnesota primary began.
  • January 31: Delaney dropped out of the race.

    February 2020

  • February 3: The Iowa caucuses took place, but inconsistencies reported in the caucus results delayed reporting of the outcome.
  • February 4–7: Results were released in the Iowa caucuses that showed Buttigieg leading in state delegate equivalents, and Sanders winning a plurality of first-alignment and final-alignment votes. The reporting delays, errors, and inconsistencies surrounding the caucuses prompted DNC Chairman Tom Perez and both campaigns to call for a recanvass. On February 27, 2020, following several recounts and a recanvass, Buttigieg retained his lead in state delegate equivalents, and the Iowa Democratic Party declared him the official winner, becoming the first openly gay candidate of a major political party to win a presidential primary contest. Sanders won a plurality of first-alignment and final-alignment votes. Warren came in third, Biden came in fourth and Klobuchar came in fifth.
  • February 7: The eighth Democratic debate took place in Goffstown, New Hampshire at St. Anselm College.
  • February 11: New Hampshire primary
  • *Sanders was announced as the winner of the New Hampshire primary, with 26% of the vote. Buttigieg and Klobuchar were the only other candidates to receive delegates; Warren and Biden finished below the delegate threshold.
  • *Bennet and Yang dropped out of the race.
  • February 12: Patrick dropped out of the race.
  • February 14: De Blasio endorsed Sanders.
  • February 15–17: The Moving America Forward Infrastructure Forum was held at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, by the IUOE, ASCE, TWUA, ARTBA, APTA, AEM, and other groups. Infrastructure policy was discussed, with a focus on transportation, water, and broadband issues.
  • February 19: The ninth Democratic debate took place in Las Vegas, Nevada.
  • February 21: Voting in the Washington primary began.
  • February 22: Nevada caucuses
  • * With almost 47% of the county convention delegates, Sanders was announced as the winner of the Nevada caucuses. Biden finished second, Buttigieg third, Warren fourth, and Steyer fifth.
  • February 24: Voting in the Colorado primary began.
  • *Williamson endorsed Sanders.
  • February 25: The tenth Democratic debate took place in Charleston, South Carolina at the Gaillard Center.
  • February 29: South Carolina primary
  • * With 48% of the popular vote, Biden was announced as the winner of the South Carolina primary. Sanders came in second, with Steyer 3rd, Buttigieg 4th, and Warren 5th.
  • * Steyer dropped out of the race.

    March 2020

  • March 1: Buttigieg dropped out of the race.
  • March 2: Klobuchar dropped out of the race.
  • * Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and O'Rourke endorsed Biden during an evening rally in Texas.
  • March 3: Super Tuesday: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia primaries; American Samoa caucus.
  • *Biden won Alabama, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
  • *Bloomberg won American Samoa.
  • *Sanders won California, Colorado, Utah, and Vermont.
  • * Voting in the Democrats Abroad primary began.
  • March 4: Bloomberg dropped out of the race, endorsing Biden.
  • March 5: Warren dropped out of the race.
  • March 6: Delaney endorsed Biden.
  • March 8: Harris endorsed Biden.
  • March 9: Booker endorsed Biden.
  • March 10: Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri and Washington primaries; North Dakota caucus.
  • * Biden won Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, and Washington.
  • * Sanders won North Dakota.
  • * Yang endorsed Biden.
  • March 13: A national emergency was declared due to the coronavirus pandemic. Following this, several presidential primaries were rescheduled, and candidates limited in-person events.
  • March 14: Sanders won Northern Mariana Islands.
  • March 15: The 11th Democratic debate, originally scheduled to take place in Phoenix, Arizona, took place in Washington, D.C. due to coronavirus concerns.
  • March 16: Ohio announced that it intended to postpone its presidential primary, a plan that was struck down by a judge that same day. Following the judge's decision, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that polls would be closed by order of Ohio Health Director Amy Acton due to a "health emergency." State officials sought to extend the voting process.
  • March 17: Arizona, Florida, and Illinois primaries.
  • *Biden won Arizona, Florida, and Illinois.
  • March 19: Gabbard dropped out of the race, endorsing Biden. Connecticut rescheduled its primary from April 28 to June 2.
  • March 23: Sanders won Democrats Abroad.
  • March 28: The New York primary was rescheduled from April 28 to June 23 due to coronavirus concerns.

    April 2020

  • April 7: Wisconsin primary
  • April 8:
  • *Sanders dropped out of the race, and Biden became the presumptive presidential nominee.
  • *The New Jersey primary was moved from June 2 to July 7 due to coronavirus concerns.
  • April 10: Mail-in voting period ends for Alaska party-run primary.
  • April 11: Biden won Alaska.
  • April 13:
  • *Sanders endorsed Biden.
  • *Biden won Wisconsin.
  • April 14:
  • *Former President Barack Obama endorsed Biden.
  • *Louisiana rescheduled its primary election for the second time, moving the date from June 20 to July 11.
  • April 15: Warren endorsed Biden.
  • April 17: Mail-in voting period ends for Wyoming caucus. Connecticut rescheduled its primary again, from June 2 to August 11.
  • April 19: Biden won Wyoming.
  • April 22: Inslee endorsed Biden.
  • April 27:
  • *Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi endorsed Biden.
  • * New York canceled its primary. Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs said it was unknown how New York would count delegates heading into the Democratic Convention.
  • April 28:
  • *Mail-in voting period ends for Ohio primary.
  • *Hillary Clinton endorsed Biden.
  • *Biden won Ohio.
  • April 29: Voting for the Oregon primary begins.
  • April 30: Biden announced his vice-presidential selection committee.

    May 2020

  • May 2: Biden won Kansas.
  • May 4: Oral arguments in New York primary cancellation suit.
  • May 5: A federal judge ruled that the New York primary must proceed on June 23, 2020, as previously scheduled.
  • May 12: Biden won Nebraska.
  • May 19: Biden won Oregon.
  • May 22: Biden won Hawaii.

    June 2020

  • June 2: Biden won the District of Columbia, Indiana, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Dakota.
  • June 5: As votes continued to be counted in the June 2 races, the Associated Press estimated that Biden had passed the 1,991 delegate threshold to secure the nomination at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
  • June 6
  • * Biden won Guam.
  • * Biden officially passed the 1,991 delegate threshold to secure the nomination at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
  • June 8: Biden won the Virgin Islands.
  • June 9: Biden won Georgia and West Virginia.
  • June 23: Biden won New York and Kentucky.

    July 2020

  • July 7: Biden won Delaware and New Jersey.
  • July 11: Biden won Louisiana.
  • July 12: Biden won Puerto Rico.

    August 2020

  • August 1-7: Announcement of Joe Biden's vice president pick.
  • August 11: Connecticut primary
  • August 17–20: Democratic National Convention, in which delegates of the Democratic Party will choose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the general election

    Ballot access

Filing for the primaries began in October 2019. indicates that the candidate is on the ballot for the primary contest, indicates that the candidate is a recognized write-in candidate, and indicates that the candidate will not appear on the ballot in that state's contest. indicates that a candidate withdrew before the election but is still listed on the ballot.
Candidates listed in italics have suspended their campaigns.

National convention

The 2020 Democratic National Convention was scheduled to take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 13–16, 2020, but was postponed to the week of August 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to Milwaukee, the DNC also considered bids from three other cities: Houston, Texas; Miami Beach, Florida; and Denver, Colorado. Denver, though, was immediately withdrawn from consideration by representatives for the city, who cited scheduling conflicts.

Endorsements

Campaign finance

This is an overview of the money being raised and spent by each campaign for the entire period running from January 1, 2017, to March 31, 2020, as it was reported to the Federal Election Commission. Total raised is the sum of all individual contributions, loans from the candidate, and transfers from other campaign committees. The last column, Cash On Hand, has been calculated by subtracting the "spent" amount from the "raised" amount, thereby showing the remaining cash each campaign had available for its future spending as of 2020 As of February 29, 2020, the major candidates have raised $989,234,992.08.

Maps

Joe Biden
Michael Bloomberg
Pete Buttigieg
Amy Klobuchar
Bernie Sanders
Tom Steyer
Elizabeth Warren
Tie
Other
Winner not yet declared