How many delegates will a Democratic presidential candidate need to win the nomination?
In 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) defeated Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Democratic presidential primary with support from more than 2,800 pledged delegates and superdelegates.
While the process for selecting and allocating delegates will largely remain unchanged in the 2020 Democratic primary, the Unity Reform Commission—tasked with reviewing the Democratic nomination process for accessibility, transparency, and inclusivity—has introduced one major alteration to the process: Superdelegates will not be allowed to vote on the first ballot at a contested national convention.
In 2020, there will be an estimated 4,532 delegates: 3,768 pledged delegates and 764 superdelegates.
To win the Democratic nomination, a presidential candidate must receive support from a majority of the pledged delegates on the first ballot—an estimated 1,885 pledged delegates.
Roughly two-thirds of the pledged delegates will be awarded in the first two months of the primary cycle.
If the convention is contested and goes to a second ballot or more, superdelegates will be able to vote and a candidate must receive majority support from all delegates—an estimated 2,267 delegates.
State parties are due to finalize and submit their delegate selection plans to the Democratic National Committee by Friday.
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