2020 District of Columbia Democratic presidential primary
The 2020 District of Columbia Democratic presidential primary took place on June 2, 2020, as one of the Democratic Party presidential primaries for the 2020 presidential election. The District of Columbia primary was a closed primary, with the district awarding 45 delegates, of whom 20 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.
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45 Democratic National Convention delegates (20 pledged with 13 on municipal-level and 7 district wide; 25[lower-alpha 1] unpledged) The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Joe Biden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in the District of Columbia |
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Former Vice President Joe Biden won the primary with 76% of the vote, earning 19 delegates.[1] Senator Elizabeth Warren saw her only second-place finish in the 2020 primaries with 12.9% and won 1 delegate,[2] while Senator Bernie Sanders came in third with 10%, although Warren had withdrawn from the race long before following Super Tuesday and in difference to Sanders had not sought to win any more delegates. As almost all news articles only published the preliminary results and did not update on the final certified results (which were higher for Warren), they do not show a delegate for Warren.
Procedure
A law passed in December 2019 had moved the election from June 16 to June 2.[3][4] Voting took place across the district from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. local time. In the closed primary, candidates had to meet a threshold of 15% at municipal districts or the whole federal district in order to be considered viable. The 20 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention were allocated proportionally on the basis of the primary results. Of these delegates, 6 and 7 were allocated to the two municipal districts (each consisting of 4 wards) and another 2 were allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 5 at-large pledged delegates.[2] Originally planned with 17 delegates, the final number included a 20% bonus of 3 additional delegates by the Democratic National Committee due to the June date, which belonged to Stage III on the primary timetable.[5]
The pre-primary caucus should have been held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on May 9, 2020, in order to designate the different presidential candidates' municipal district-level delegate slates, who would then be elected to the national convention through the primary. The state party committee would then meet after the primary on June 4 to vote on the 2 PLEO delegates, on June 9 to finally vote on the 13 municipal delegates, and on June 11 to vote on the 5 pledged at-large delegates. The 20 pledged delegates the District of Columbia sent to the national convention were to be joined by 26 unpledged PLEO delegates (22 members of the Democratic National Committee; 3 members of Congress, consisting of the district's delegation of its nonvoting delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and two shadow Senators; and the mayor, Muriel Bowser, in place of the place usually allotted to state governors). Finally, there was one DNC member less.[2]
| Pledged national convention delegates | |
|---|---|
| Type | Del. |
| MD1 | 7 |
| MD2 | 6 |
| PLEO | 2 |
| At-large | 5 |
| Total pledged delegates | 20 |
Candidates
The following individuals appeared on the ballot in the District of Columbia:[6]
- Joe Biden
- Tulsi Gabbard (withdrawn)
- Bernie Sanders (withdrawn)
- Elizabeth Warren (withdrawn)
Results
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| Candidate | Votes | % | Delegates[1][2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Biden | 84,093 | 75.97 | 19 |
| Elizabeth Warren (withdrawn) | 14,228 | 12.85 | 1 |
| Bernie Sanders (withdrawn) | 11,116 | 10.04 | |
| Tulsi Gabbard (withdrawn) | 442 | 0.40 | |
| Write-in votes | 809 | 0.73 | |
| Total | 110,688 | 100% | 20 |
Notes
- originally 26 unpledged delegates
References
- "Live results: 2020 District of Columbia Democratic presidential primary". June 17, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- "District of Columbia Democratic Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. June 14, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- "B23-0212 - Primary Date Alteration Amendment Act of 2019". Council of the District of Columbia. March 19, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- "DC Council Advances June 2 Presidential Primary Bill". Frontloading HQ. October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- "Democratic Timing Penalties and Bonuses". The Green Papers. November 24, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
- "Democratic Candidates in the June 2, 2020 Primary Election". www.dcboe.org. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- "DCBOE Election Results". electionresults.dcboe.org. DC Board of Elections. Retrieved June 3, 2020.