2020 United States presidential election: Difference between revisions

2020 United States presidential election

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The electoral map for the 2020 election, based on populations from the 2010 Census.
Incumbent President Donald Trump Republican

2020 U.S. presidential election
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The 2020 United States presidential election, scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2020, will be the 59th quadrennial U.S. presidential election. Voters will select presidential electors who in turn on December 14, 2020,^[1] will either elect a new president and vice president or re-elect the incumbents. In the event that no candidate receives the minimum 270 electoral votes needed to win the election, the United States House of Representatives will select the president from three candidates that received the most electoral votes, and the United States Senate will select the vice president from the candidates that received the two highest totals. The series of presidential primary elections and caucuses is likely to be held during the first six months of 2020. This nominating process is also an indirect election, where voters cast ballots selecting a slate of delegates to a political party's nominating convention, who then in turn elect their party's presidential nominee and his or her vice presidential running mate.

The winner of the 2020 presidential election is scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20, 2021.

Article Two of the United States Constitution states that for a person to serve as president of the United States the individual must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, at least 35 years old and a United States resident for at least 14 years. Candidates for the presidency typically seek the nomination of one of the various political parties of the United States, in which case each party develops a method (such as a primary election) to choose the candidate the party deems best suited to run for the position. The primary elections are usually indirect elections where voters cast ballots for a slate of party delegates pledged to a particular candidate. The party's delegates then officially nominate a candidate to run on the party's behalf. The presidential nominee typically chooses a vice presidential running mate to form that party's ticket, who is then ratified by the delegates (with the exception of the Libertarian Party, which nominates its vice presidential candidate by delegate vote regardless of the presidential nominee's preference). The general election in November is also an indirect election, in which voters cast ballots for a slate of members of the Electoral College; these electors then directly elect the president and vice president.^[2]

In August 2018, the Democratic National Committee voted to disallow superdelegates from voting on the first ballot of the nominating process, beginning with the 2020 election. This would require a candidate to win a majority of pledged delegates from the assorted primary elections in order to win the party's nomination. The last time this did not occur was the nomination of Adlai Stevenson II at the 1952 Democratic National Convention.^[3]

On August 26, 2019, the Maine legislature passed a bill adopting instant-runoff voting for both presidential primaries and the general election.^[4][5] On September 6, 2019, Governor Janet Mills allowed the bill to become law without her signature, which delayed it from taking effect until after the 2020 Democratic primary in March, but puts Maine on track to be the first state to use instant-runoff voting for a presidential general election.^[6] The law continues the use of the congressional district method for the allocation of electors, as Maine and Nebraska have used in recent elections. The change could potentially prevent the projection of the winner(s) of Maine's electoral votes for over a week after election day, and would also complicate interpretation of the national popular vote.

The Twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution states that an individual cannot be elected to the presidency more than twice. This prohibits former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama from being elected president again. Former president Jimmy Carter, having served a single term as president, is not constitutionally prohibited from being elected to another term in the 2020 election.

The age group of what will then be people in the 18 to 45-year-old bracket is expected to represent just under 40 percent of the United States' eligible voters in 2020. It is expected that more than 30 percent of eligible American voters will be nonwhite.^[7]

A bipartisan report indicates that changes in voter demographics since the 2016 election could impact the results of the 2020 election. African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and other ethnic minorities, as well as "whites with a college degree", are expected to all increase their percentage of national eligible voters by 2020, while "whites without a college degree" will decrease. This shift is potentially an advantage for the Democratic nominee; however, due to geographical differences, this could still lead to President Trump (or a different Republican nominee) winning the Electoral College while still losing the popular vote, possibly by an even larger margin than in 2016.^[8]

The presidential election will occur simultaneously with elections to the Senate and the House of Representatives. Several states will also hold state gubernatorial and state legislative elections. Following the election, the United States House will redistribute the seats among the 50 states based on the results of the 2020 United States Census, and the states will conduct a redistricting of Congressional and state legislative districts. In most states the governor and the state legislature conduct the redistricting (although some states have redistricting commissions), and often a party that wins a presidential election experiences a coattail effect that also helps other candidates of that party win elections.^[9] Therefore, the party that wins the 2020 presidential election could also win a significant advantage in the drawing of new Congressional and state legislative districts that would stay in effect until the 2032 elections.^[10]

Donald Trump is formally seeking re-election.^[11][12] His re-election campaign has been ongoing since his victory in 2016, leading pundits to describe his tactic of holding rallies continuously throughout his presidency as a "never-ending campaign".^[13] On January 20, 2017, at 5:11 p.m., he submitted a letter as a substitute of FEC Form 2, by which he reached the legal threshold for filing, in compliance with the Federal Election Campaign Act.^[14]

Beginning in August 2017, reports arose that members of the Republican Party were preparing a "shadow campaign" against Trump, particularly from the moderate or establishment wings of the party. Then-Arizona senator John McCain said that "[Republicans] see weakness in this president."^[15] Maine senator Susan Collins, Kentucky senator Rand Paul, and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie all expressed doubts in 2017 that Trump would be the 2020 nominee, with Collins stating "it's too difficult to say."^[16][17] Senator Jeff Flake claimed in 2017 that Trump was "inviting" a primary challenger by the way he was governing.^[18] Longtime political strategist Roger Stone, however, predicted in May 2018 that Trump might not seek a second term were he to succeed in keeping all of his campaign promises and "mak[ing] America great again".^[19]

The Republican National Committee unofficially endorsed Trump on January 25, 2019.^[20]

Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld became Trump's first official challenger in the Republican primaries following an announcement on April 15, 2019.^[21] Weld, who was the Libertarian Party's nominee for vice president in 2016, is considered a long shot because his libertarian views on several political positions such as abortion rights, gay marriage and marijuana legalization conflict with traditionalist conservative positions.^[22] Former Illinois representative Joe Walsh launched the second primary challenge on August 25, 2019, saying that "I'm going to do whatever I can. I don't want [Trump] to win. The country cannot afford to have him win. If I'm not successful, I'm not voting for him."^[23] On September 8, 2019, former South Carolina governor and congressman Mark Sanford officially announced that he will be the third major Republican primary challenger to Trump.^[24]

Name	Born	Most recent position	Home state	Announcement date	Campaign Withdrawal date	Bound delegates[25]		Popular vote[25]	Contests won	Running mate	Ref.
						Soft count[a]	Hard count[b]
Donald Trump	June 14, 1946 (age 74) Queens, New York	45th President of the United States (2017–2021) Incumbent	Florida[27][c]	June 18, 2019[28]	Campaign Secured nomination: March 17, 2020	2,310 (90.59%)	2,339 (91.73%)	18,159,752 (93.99% )	56 (AK, AL, AR, AS, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, GU, HI,[29] IA,[30] ID, IL, IN, KS,[31] KY, LA,MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MP, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH,[32] NJ, NM, NV,[33] NY,[34] OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VI, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY)	Mike Pence	[35]

After Hillary Clinton's loss in the previous election, the Democratic Party was seen largely as leaderless^[48] and fractured between the centrist Clinton wing and the more progressive Sanders wing of the party, echoing the rift brought up in the 2016 primary election.^[49][50]

This divide between the establishment and progressive wings of the party has been reflected in several elections leading up to the 2020 primaries, most notably in 2017 with the election for DNC chair between Biden-backed moderate Tom Perez and Sanders-backed progressive Keith Ellison:^[51] Perez was elected chairman, but Ellison was appointed the deputy chair, a largely ceremonial role. In 2018, several U.S. House districts that Democrats hoped to gain from the Republican majority had contentious primary elections. These clashes were described by Politico's Elena Schneider as a "Democratic civil war."^[52] Meanwhile, there has been a general shift to the left in regards to college tuition, healthcare, and immigration among Democrats in the Senate, likely to build up credentials for the upcoming primary election.^[53][54]

Perez has commented that the 2020 primary field would likely go into double digits, rivaling the size of the 2016 GOP primary, which consisted of 17 major candidates, setting a then-record for the largest presidential primary field for any political party in American history.^[55][56] Several female candidates are expected to enter the race, increasing the likelihood of the Democrats nominating a woman for the second time in a row.^[57] Speculation also mounted that Democrats' best bet to defeat President Trump would be to nominate their own celebrity or businessperson with no government experience, most notably Oprah Winfrey after her speech at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.^[58]

The topic of age has been brought up among the most likely front-runners: former vice president Joe Biden, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, who will be 78, 71, and 79 respectively on inauguration day. Former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (who will be 81 on inauguration day) described the trio as "an old folks' home", expressing a need for fresh faces to step up and lead the party.^[59]

There are 20 major candidates running active campaigns as of August 28, 2019. Counting the candidates who have dropped out, 27 major candidates have sought the 2020 Democratic nomination, breaking the aforementioned 2016 GOP primary's record for the largest presidential primary field for any political party since 1972.^[60][56]

Candidate		Born	Most recent position	State	Campaign announced	Pledged delegates[61]	Popular vote[62]	Contests won	Article	Running mate	Ref.
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	[63]

Libertarian debates are being held at multiple state conventions^[64], as well as bi-weekly on the We Are Libertarians podcast.

Individuals in this section have expressed an interest in running for president within the last six months.

On July 24, 2019, the Green Party of the United States officially recognized the campaign of Howie Hawkins.^[65] On August 26, 2019, Dario Hunter's campaign was also recognized.^[66] Other candidates have until the end of 2019 to obtain formal recognition, after meeting the established criteria by the party's Presidential Campaign Support Committee.^[67]

Candidate		Experience	Home	Campaign Announced	Campaign Suspended	Popular Vote[d]	Pledged delegates 176 delegate votes needed to win	Contests won [e]	Article	Ref
Officially recognized candidates[f]
Howie Hawkins		Co-founder of the Green Party (1984) Socialist Party USA nominee for president in 2020 Nominee for Governor of New York in 2010, 2014, 2018	New York	Exploratory committee: April 3, 2019 Campaign: May 28, 2019	Received nomination	5,235[d] (35.5%)	205 / 358 (58.57%)	34 (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WV, LAV, YES)	Campaign FEC filing[68] Running mate: Angela Walker	[69][70]
Dario Hunter		Youngstown Board of Education member (2016–2020)	California	Exploratory committee: January 21, 2019 Campaign: February 18, 2019	June 11, 2020 (Running as a Progressive)[71]	3,107[d] (20.7%)	98.5 / 358 (28.14%)	11 (DE, HI, IA, ID, MA, ME, MN, OK, WA, LTX, WCS)	FEC filing[72] Campaign Running mate: Darlene Elias[73]	[45]
David Rolde		Co-chair of the Greater Boston Chapter of the Green-Rainbow Party	Massachusetts	Campaign: July 14, 2019	June 11, 2020	960[d] (6.5%)	5 / 358 (1.57%)	0	FEC filing[74]	[75][76]
Other Candidates
Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry		Activist Candidate for President in 2016	California	Campaign: July 29, 2015	June 11, 2020 (Ran for Vice-President with Mark Charles)[77]	2,231[d] (15.3%)	11.5 / 358 (3%)	2 AK, LA	FEC filing[78]	[79][non-primary source needed]
Dennis Lambert		Documentary filmmaker Candidate for U.S. representative from OH-15 in 2016 Nominee for U.S. representative from OH-06 in 2014	Ohio	Campaign: May 10, 2019	June 11, 2020	2,030[d] (13.9%)	9 / 358 (2.57%)	0	FEC filing[80]	[81][82]
Jesse Ventura		Governor of Minnesota (1999–2003) Mayor of Brooklyn Park (1991–1995)	Minnesota	No campaign	No campaign	23[d]	7 / 358 (2.29%)	0	No candidacy	[83]
Kent Mesplay		Inspector at the Air Pollution Control District of San Diego County (2001–present) Candidate for President in 2008, 2012 and 2016	California	Campaign: December 14, 2019	June 11, 2020	72[d] (0.5%)	3 / 358 (0.86%)	0	FEC filing[84]	[85][non-primary source needed]
Susan Buchser Lochocki		Businesswoman	Zürich,[86] Switzerland	Campaign: November 12, 2019	June 11, 2020	6[d] (0.04%)	1 / 358 (0.29%)	0	FEC filing[87]	[87][88]
Chad Wilson		Podcaster	Tennessee	Campaign: September 8, 2019 [citation needed]	June 11, 2020	5[d] (0.02%)	.5 / 358 (0.14%)	0	FEC filing[89]	[90]
Alternate ballot options
Uncommitted / None of the Above						1,662[d] (8.8%)	17.5 / 358 (4.1%)	3 (MA,[g] MT) RI Excluded[h]

Candidate	Experience	Home state	Campaign announced	Campaign suspended	Ref
Ian Schlakman	Former co-chair of the Maryland Green Party Nominee for Governor of Maryland in 2018 Nominee for U.S. representative from MD-02 in 2014	Maryland	December 3, 2018[91]	October 18, 2019	[92][93]
Alan Augustson	Public policy analyst Candidate for U.S. representative from IL-05 in 2009 Nominee for U.S. representative from IL-05 in 2008	New Mexico	April 6, 2019[94]	June 10, 2019 (endorsed Hunter)[95]	[96][95]

The following individuals were the subject of speculation as being possible candidates, but publicly denied interest in running.

• Darryl Cherney, musician and environmental activist; Green candidate for president in 2016^{[97][non-primary source needed]}
• Jill Stein, Lexington Town Meeting member 2005–2010; Green nominee for president in 2012 and 2016; Green nominee for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010^[98]
• Jesse Ventura, Governor of Minnesota (1999–2003); Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota (1991–1995)^[99][100]

G2
Salem

G3
Springfield

G4
Muncie

G5
Boise

G6
Fresno

G7
Chicago

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Sites of the Green presidential debates

The Green Party's Presidential Campaign Support Committee (PCSC) hosted a presidential forum on July 26 during the party's 2019 Annual National Meeting. All other debates and forums were organized by state Green Parties and caucuses.

• December 14: Former Maryland Green Party co-chair Ian Schlakman became the first Green Party candidate filed with the FEC to announce their presidential bid for the 2020 election, the first presidential election he qualified for.^[92]

• January 17: Howie Hawkins answered questions on public "Green Party Power Project" conference call on the Green New Deal, during this he announced that he was considering a run for the Green Party nomination
• January 21: Rabbi and Youngstown Board of Education member Dario Hunter (then) of Ohio formed an exploratory committee.^[115]
• February 18: Dario Hunter officially announced his campaign and filed his candidacy with the FEC.^[45]
• April 3: Howie Hawkins formed an exploratory committee.
• May 10: U.S. Army Veteran Dennis Lambert announced his campaign.^[81]
• May 28: Hawkins formally launched his campaign.^[116]
• June 4: Howie Hawkins filed his candidacy with the FEC
• July 14: David Rolde announced his campaign.
• July 19: The Green Party of Minnesota hosted the first green primary debate.^[117]
• July 26: The second Green Party debate took place in Salem, Massachusetts.
• July 29: Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry announced her campaign.
• August 8: Moyowasifza-Curry filed her candidacy with the FEC.^[118]
• August 9: Dennis Lambert filed his candidacy with the FEC.
• August 11: The third Green Party debate took place in Springfield, Missouri.
• August 18: The Green National Committee decides to hold the 2020 Green National Convention in Detroit, Michigan on July 9–12.
• August 19: Dennis Lambert filed his candidacy with the FEC.^[80]
• August 27: David Rolde filed his candidacy with the FEC.
• September 8: Chad Wilson announced his campaign.^[119]
• September 20: The fourth Green Party debate took place in Muncie, Indiana.
• October 18: Schlakman suspends his campaign over disputes with the Green Party^[93]
• October 19: The fifth Green Party debate took place in Boise, Idaho.
• December 7: The sixth Green Party debate took place in Fresno, California.
• December 11: Chad Wilson filed his candidacy with the FEC.
• December 14: Kent Mesplay announces his campaign.^[85]

• February 25: Hunter won Minnesota caucus.
• February 25: Hawkins won Ohio.
• March 3: Super Tuesday: Hawkins won California and North Carolina; Hunter is the winning candidate in a close race in Massachusetts (as declared by the MA Secretary of State), the no preference option received the most popular votes. Hunter announces Darlene Elias, parole officer and former Green Party Co-chair, as his running mate.^[120]
• March 4: Howie Hawkins and Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry take part in the Free & Equal elections debate held in Chicago.
• March 10: Hawkins won Missouri.
• March 14: Hawkins won Illinois.
• April 14: Jesse Ventura submits his interest in running for president under the Green Party to the Presidential Campaign Support Committee.
• April 17: Hawkins won Colorado.
• April 18: Hawkins won Texas.
• April 21: Hawkins won Wisconsin at popular vote, but at tie with Hunter at delegates.
• April 25: Hawkins won New Mexico.
• April 28: Hawkins won Pennsylvania and Utah.
• May 2: Hawkins won South Carolina.
• May 3: Hawkins won Arkansas. Hawkins declared winner of Pennsylvania.
• May 5: Hawkins won Tennessee and announced Angela Walker as his running mate.^[121]
• May 12: Hawkins won West Virginia.
• May 16: Hawkins won New York.
• May 17: Hawkins won Kansas.
• May 23: Hunter won Hawaii. Washington primary TBA.
• May 24: Hawkins won the Young Ecosocialists (YES) primary.
• May 28: The Green Party of Rhode Island announces they will not endorse nor provide any ballot access efforts for any Green Party candidate in the 2020 election.
• May 30: Hawkins won Florida, Maryland, and Mississippi primaries. Hunter won Idaho.
• June 2: Hawkins won the District of Columbia as Montana votes no preference for their candidate.
• June 6: Hawkins won Oregon.
• June 9: Hawkins won Nevada.
• June 12: Hunter won Maine.
• June 12: Hawkins won Indiana.
• June 14: Hawkins won Connecticut.
• June 19: The Alaska Green Party endorses Sedinam Curry for President, and commits their delegates to her, despite not registering for the Green National Convention.
• June 20: Hawkins won Michigan and the Lavender Greens primary.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2020)

Filing for the primaries began in October 2019. indicates that the candidate is on the ballot for the upcoming 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. Blanks indicate that a candidate is not yet known to be on the ballot but a final list of candidates eligible to appear on the ballot is not yet available. States that have not yet announced any candidates who are on the ballot are not included. The requirements to gain ballot access are determined either by the state government or the state party, depending on local election law.

Primaries and Caucuses

State/ Territory	Date	Curry	Hawkins	Hunter	Lambert	Mesplay	Rolde	Wilson	Lochocki	Ref
MN	Feb 25	Ballot access not required
OH	Feb 29
CA	Mar 3									[122]
MA	Mar 3									[123]
NC	Mar 3									[124]
MO	Mar 10									[125]
PA	Apr 28									[126]
WV	May 12									[127]
WA	May 23									[128]
HI	May 23									[129]
YES	May 24									[130]
RI	May 28	Abstention
FL	May 30									[131]
MD	May 30									[132]
DC	Jun 2									[133]
MT	Jun 2	Only No Preference On Ballot								[134]
IN	Jun 12									[135]

This is an overview of the money used by each campaign as it is reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Totals raised include loans from the candidate and transfers from other campaign committees.

• 2020 United States presidential election

National Conventions

• 2020 Green National Convention
• 2020 Republican National Convention
• 2020 Democratic National Convention
• 2020 Libertarian National Convention
• 2020 Constitution Party National Convention

Presidential primaries

• 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries
• 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
• 2020 Libertarian Party presidential primaries
• 2020 Constitution Party presidential primaries