2020 Delaware Democratic presidential primary
July 7, 2020
32 delegates (21 pledged, 11 unpledged)
to the Democratic National Convention
The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote
 
Candidate Joe Biden Bernie Sanders
(withdrawn)
Home state Delaware Vermont
Delegate count 21 0
Popular vote 81,954 6,878
Percentage 89.4% 7.5%
Election results by county
  Joe Biden
Pledged national
convention delegates
Type Del.
City of Wilmington 2
New Castle County[lower-alpha 1] 8
Kent County 2
Sussex County 2
PLEO 2
At-large 5
Total pledged delegates 21

The 2020 Delaware Democratic presidential primary took place on July 7, 2020 alongside the New Jersey primary, as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. It was originally going to take place on April 28, 2020 as one of several northeastern states in the "Acela primary", but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Delaware primary was a closed primary, with the state awarding 32 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 21 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the primary results.

Former vice president and presumptive nominee Joe Biden, who represented the state in the senate for three and a half decades, swept all delegates in this primary, winning almost 90% of the vote. Senator Bernie Sanders, who still attempted to win delegates, took little more than 7% of the vote, with senator Elizabeth Warren, the only other withdrawn candidate, collecting the rest.

Procedure

Delaware originally joined several northeastern states, which are connected by the Acela train system, as part of a regional cluster, the "Acela primary", in holding primaries on April 28, 2020.[1][2] Governor John Carney postponed the primary first in March to June 2 and then in May to July 7. The Democratic National Committee granted a waiver for the late date outside of the window sanctioned by the party.[3] New Jersey had moved its primary, which was originally planned on June 2, to the same date.

Voting took place throughout the state from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. In the closed primary, candidates had to meet a threshold of 15 percent at the city and county or the statewide level in order to be considered viable. While Delaware consists of only one congressional district, the state party decided to subdivide its regional delegates between the 3 counties of the state and one city, being one of only two states in the Democratic Party to do so. The 21 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention were allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the primary. Of these, between 2 and 8 were allocated to each of the state's 3 counties and the city of Wilmington and another 2 were allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 5 at-large delegates.[3] Originally planned with 17 delegates, the final number included a 25% bonus of 4 additional delegates on the 11 county/city and 4 at-large delegates by the Democratic National Committee, 10% for the original April date, which belonged to Stage II on the primary timetable, and an additional 15% for the regional "Acela" cluster.[4][5]

The delegate selection caucus, planned to be held on May 9, 2020, took place in Delaware on July 16, 2020, following representative district-level caucuses shortly before, where delegate selection caucus delegates had been chosen. The caucus voted on the county and city delegates, who then voted on the 5 at-large and 2 pledged PLEO delegates for the Democratic National Convention. The delegation also included 11 unpledged PLEO delegates: 6 members of the Democratic National Committee, all 3 members of Congress (both senators and one representative), the governor John Carney, and notably, former vice president Joe Biden.[3]

In addition to delaying in-person voting from April 28, 2020 to June 2, 2020 to July 7, 2020, the requirements for using a mail-in absentee ballot had broadened to include voters who wished to follow public health guidelines for self-quarantine or social distancing even if they were experiencing no symptoms.[6]

Candidates

The following candidates qualified for the ballot in Delaware:[7]

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size		 Margin
of error		 Joe
Biden		 Cory
Booker		 Pete
Buttigieg		 Tulsi
Gabbard		 Kamala
Harris		 Bernie
Sanders		 Elizabeth
Warren		 Andrew
Yang		 Other Undecided
Apr 8, 2020 Sanders suspends his campaign
Mar 19, 2020 Gabbard withdraws from the race
Mar 1–5, 2020 Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Bloomberg, and Warren withdraw from the race
Jan 13, 2020 Booker withdraws from the race
Dec 3, 2019 Harris withdraws from the race
Data For Progress Nov 15–25, 2019 481 (LV) –[lower-alpha 2] 35% 3% 8% 3% 1% 13% 11% 1% 10%[lower-alpha 3] 15%

Results

2020 Delaware Democratic presidential primary[8]
Candidate Votes  % Delegates[9]
Joe Biden 81,954 89.39 21
Bernie Sanders (withdrawn) 6,878 7.50
Elizabeth Warren (withdrawn) 2,850 3.11
Total 91,682 100% 21

Results by county

Favorite son Joe Biden overwhelmingly won all three counties; 73% of Sanders's votes came from New Castle County. Sanders failed to break the 15% threshold in any constituency, leading to a Biden sweep of delegates. Just over three percent of votes went to Elizabeth Warren, who had withdrawn from the race in March.

County[8] Biden  % Sanders  % Warren  %
Kent12,04286.0%9647.2%4046.8%
New Castle53,23188.6%4,9838.3%1,8953.1%
Sussex16,68492.6%9315.2%5512.2%
Total81,95489.4%6,8787.5%2,8503.1%

Notes

  1. ↑ excluding Wilmington
  2. ↑ Not reported by source
  3. ↑ Bloomberg, Delaney, Klobuchar and Williamson with 1%

See also

References

  1. ↑ Putnam, Josh. "The 2020 Presidential Primary Calendar". Frontloading HQ. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  2. ↑ Thompson, Steve; Nirappil, Fenit (February 6, 2019). "D.C. is slated to vote last in 2020 Democratic primaries. That might change". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 "Delaware Democratic Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. May 11, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Democratic Timing Penalties and Bonuses". The Green Papers. November 24, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ "The Math Behind the Democratic Delegate Allocation - 2020". The Green Papers. November 24, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  6. ↑ Chase, Randall (March 24, 2020). "Delaware presidential primary delayed because of coronavirus". AP NEWS. Associated Press.
  7. ↑ "State of Delaware - Department of Elections · Office of the State Election Commissioner". elections.delaware.gov. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Delaware Election Results". Department of Elections. Delaware Department of Elections. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Delegate Tracker". interactives.ap.org. Associated Press. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
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