The 2020 U.S. presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election. The election took place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Voters selected electors who then voted on December 14, 2020. The series of presidential primary elections and caucuses were scheduled from February to August of 2020. Primaries and caucuses are held in various states, the District of Columbia, and territories of the U.S and are used as part of the nomination process for presidential candidates. A state's primary or caucus is typically an indirect vote, where voters determine the number of delegates each party's national convention will receive from their respective state. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some presidential primaries were rescheduled, and others canceled in-person voting altogether. Hawaii, Kansas, Ohio, Wyoming, and Alaska all canceled their in-person voting. Five states are scheduled to vote this summer still: New Jersey (July 7), Delaware (July 7), Louisiana (July 11), Puerto Rico (July 12), and Connecticut (August 11).
On June 8, 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee by securing enough delegates for the nomination. Biden received an estimated 2,171 delegates, giving him more than the 1,991 required delegates needed to secure the nomination. At the beginning of the campaign, Biden was up against Bernie Sanders, Andrew Yang, Elizabeth Warren, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Michael Bloomberg, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, and several others looking to receive the nomination. All other candidates have either withdrawn their candidacy or paused their campaigns. Senator Sanders, Biden's largest competition, paused his campaign on April 8, 2020, and endorsed Biden as the presumptive nominee. Biden ended up winning 41 contests in the primaries.
President Donald Trump was the Republican presidential candidate with his running mate as Vice President Mike Pence. On March 17, 2020, Trump won the Florida and Illinois primaries, giving him more than the 1,276 delegates required to secure the nomination. The 2020 Republican National Convention was held from August 24-27, 2020. The convention's first day was in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the second, third, and fourth days in Jacksonville, Florida.
On November 3rd, 2020, the American people voted for their next president. Joe Biden won the following states:
- Arizona
- California
- Connecticut
- Colorado
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Donald Trump won the following states:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
In the 2020 election, Joe Biden won president, receiving 306 electoral votes over Donald Trump's 232 electoral votes. In the popular vote, Biden received 81.2 million votes, and Trump received 74.2 million votes. On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.