Results of the Democratic Party presidential primaries | |
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2020 U.S. presidential election | |
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Attempts to overturn | |
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This article contains the results of the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses, the processes by which the Democratic Party selected delegates to attend the 2020 Democratic National Convention from August 17–20, 2020. The series of primaries, caucuses, and state conventions culminated in the national convention, where the delegates cast their votes to formally select a candidate. A simple majority (1,990) of the total delegate votes (3,979) was required to become the nominee.
The campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination began on July 28, 2017, when Maryland Congressman John Delaney became the first candidate to announce his run for president. By April 2019, more than 20 major candidates were recognized by national and state polls, causing the field of 2020 major Democratic presidential candidates to exceed the field of major candidates in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries as the largest presidential candidate field for any single U.S. political party in a single election cycle.[1][2][3] With the addition of Michael Bloomberg on November 24, 2019, the number of major Democratic presidential candidates in the 2020 Democratic primaries totaled 29.[4]
When voting began in the 2020 Iowa caucuses, 11 major candidates were actively campaigning. Democratic primaries and caucuses in early states yielded a controversial and disputed victory for Pete Buttigieg in the Iowa caucuses, a narrow victory for Bernie Sanders in the New Hampshire primary over Buttigieg, a victory for Sanders in the Nevada caucuses, and a victory for Joe Biden in the South Carolina primary. Sanders won the popular vote in both Iowa and New Hampshire, with New Hampshire generally considered a win for Sanders.[5][6] Before the March 3, 2020, Super Tuesday primaries, six major candidates ended their campaigns; Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren ended their campaigns due to poor showings on Super Tuesday.[7][8] Tulsi Gabbard ended her campaign on March 19.[9] Sanders ended his campaign on April 8, leaving Biden as the only major candidate.[10] Biden won a majority of delegates on June 2[11] and was formally nominated on August 20, 2020.[12]