2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries

Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979[lower-alpha 2] 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 Democrats Abroad, and occurred between February 3 and August 11.

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2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries

← 2016 February 3 to August 11, 2020 2024 →
3,979 delegates to the Democratic National Convention 1,991 delegates needed to win[1][lower-alpha 1]
Candidate Joe Biden Bernie Sanders Elizabeth Warren Home state Delaware Vermont Massachusetts Delegate count 2,687[2] 1,073[2] 63[2] Contests won 46 9 0 Popular vote 19,076,052[3] 9,679,213[3] 2,831,472[3] Percentage 51.8% 26.3% 7.7%   Candidate Michael Bloomberg Pete Buttigieg Amy Klobuchar Home state New York Indiana Minnesota Delegate count 59[2] 21[2] 7[2] Contests won 1 2 0 Popular vote 2,493,409[3] 924,237[3] 529,713[3] Percentage 6.8% 2.5% 1.4%   Candidate Tulsi Gabbard Home state Hawaii Delegate count 2[2] Contests won 0 Popular vote 273,940[3] Percentage 0.7%
First place by initial pledged delegate allocation First place by popular vote First place by convention roll call   Joe Biden   Bernie Sanders   Pete Buttigieg   Michael Bloomberg
Previous Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton Democratic nominee Joe Biden

2020 U.S. presidential election
Timeline 2017–2019 January–October 2020 November 2020 – January 2021 Presidential debates Parties Polling national statewide News media endorsements primary general Fundraising Russian interference Presidential electors (fake electors) Electoral College vote count Presidential transition Subsequent voting restrictions
Attempts to overturn
Protests inauguration week Lawsuits pre-election post-election Texas v. Pennsylvania January 6 Capitol attack timeline reactions domestic international aftermath
Democratic Party
Primaries timeline Candidates Debates Forums Results Positions Polling national statewide Endorsements Nominee VP candidate selection Convention automatic delegates
Republican Party
Primaries Debates Results Polling Endorsements Nominee Convention Reactions to Trump's fraud claims
Third parties
Libertarian Party primaries convention nominee Green Party primaries debates results convention nominee Third party and independent candidates
Related races
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A total of 29 major candidates declared their candidacies for the primaries,[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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 went on to win the New Hampshire primary in a narrow victory over Buttigieg before handily winning the Nevada caucus, cementing his status as the front-runner for the nomination.[7][8]

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.[9] After Biden won South Carolina, and one day before the Super Tuesday primaries, several moderate 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.[10] Biden then went on to win 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.[10]

On April 8, Biden became the presumptive nominee after Sanders, the only other candidate remaining, withdrew from the race.[11] In early June, Biden passed the threshold of 1,991 delegates to win the nomination.[12][13] In total, seven candidates received pledged delegates: Biden, Sanders, Warren, Bloomberg, Buttigieg, Senator Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard.[14] On August 11, Biden announced that former presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris would be his running mate.[15] Biden and Harris were officially nominated for president and vice president by delegates at the Democratic National Convention on August 18 and 19.[16][17] Biden and Harris went on to win 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,[lower-alpha 3] 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. However, the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States caused a number of states to shift their primaries to later in the year.