Presidential election in Puerto Rico, 2020
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2020 presidential election  |
Democratic primary: July 12, 2020 |
Republican primary: June 5, 2020 |
Puerto Rico does not cast electoral votes for president of the United States. It does, however, hold primary nominating events.
Former Vice President Joe Biden won the Democratic primary. The Democratic Party postponed its primary from March 29, 2020, to July 12, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.[1][2][3]
In lieu of a primary, the Republican Party of Puerto Rico conducted an electronic referendum among party leaders on June 5, 2020, as the main event in its presidential nominating process.[4] Incumbent President Donald Trump won this poll.
Presidential nominating primaries in Puerto Rico are open. Voters in Puerto Rico cannot register with a particular party and, therefore, can participate in any party's primary. However, a voter may not participate in more than one party's primary.[5]
In the Democratic primary, candidates had to receive at least15% of the vote at either the district or territory-wide level in order to qualify for the proportional allocation of delegates.[6]
Candidates and election results
Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary on July 12, 2020
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
Pledged delegates |
|
 | Joe Biden |
62.4
|
3,930 | 44 |
 | Bernie Sanders |
14.8
|
932 | 5 |
 | Michael Bloomberg |
14.2
|
894 | 2 |
 | Tulsi Gabbard |
3.1
|
194 | 0 |
 | Pete Buttigieg |
2.5
|
158 | 0 |
 | Elizabeth Warren |
1.6
|
101 | 0 |
 | Thomas Steyer |
1.0
|
62 | 0 |
 | Amy Klobuchar |
0.5
|
31 | 0 |
 |
Total votes: 6,302 • Total pledged delegates: 51 |
Puerto Rico did not modify any procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Democratic primary
- See also: Democratic presidential nomination, 2020
Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) was formally nominated as the Democratic presidential nominee at the 2020 Democratic National Convention on August 18, 2020.[7] The convention was originally scheduled to take place July 13-16, 2020.[8] Organizers postponed the event in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to the national convention, individual state caucuses and primaries were held to allocate convention delegates. These delegates vote at the convention to select the nominee. In 2020, a Democratic presidential candidate needed support from 1,991 delegates to secure the nomination.
With the plurality of pledged delegates, Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee on April 8, 2020, after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) suspended his presidential campaign.[9] Biden crossed the delegate threshold necessary to win the nomination on June 5, 2020.[10]
Biden announced U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D) as his running mate on August 11, 2020. Harris is the first Black woman to appear on a major party's ticket in the United States.[11]
Republican primary
- See also: Republican presidential nomination, 2020
The Republican Party selected President Donald Trump as its presidential nominee at the 2020 Republican National Convention, which was held from August 24-27, 2020.[12]
Prior to the national convention, individual state caucuses and primaries were held to allocate convention delegates. These delegates vote at the convention to select the nominee. Trump crossed the delegate threshold necessary to win the nomination—1,276 delegates—on March 17, 2020.
George H.W. Bush (R) was the last incumbent to face a serious primary challenge, defeating political commentator Pat Buchanan in 1992. He was also the last president to lose his re-election campaign. Franklin Pierce (D) was the first and only elected president to lose his party's nomination in 1856.[13]
Sixteen U.S. presidents—approximately one-third—have won two consecutive elections.
See also
- Presidential candidates, 2020
- Democratic presidential nomination, 2020
- Republican presidential nomination, 2020
- Presidential election by state, 2020
Footnotes
- ↑ On March 21, Puerto Rico's Democratic Party first postponed its primary from March 29 to April 26. On April 2, the party announced it was postponing the event a second time to an unspecified date. On May 21, the party announced that the primary would take place on July 12, 2020.
- ↑ The Hill, "Puerto Rico delays its primary a second time," April 2, 2020
- ↑ The Hill, "Puerto Rico Democrats set 2020 primary: 'We have no alternative but to comply with the law,'" May 21, 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ballotpedia staff, "Phone call with Puerto Rico Republican Party representative," June 5, 2020
- ↑ PR51st, "Puerto Rico and the Presidential Primaries," accessed January 30, 2020
- ↑ The Green Papers, "Puerto Rico Democrat," accessed January 30, 2020
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "2020 DNC in Milwaukee pushed back to week of August 17 in response to coronavirus pandemic," April 2, 2020
- ↑ The New York Times, "Milwaukee Picked as Site of 2020 Democratic National Convention," March 11, 2019
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Bernie Sanders Ends 2020 Bid, Making Biden Presumptive Dem Nominee," April 8, 2020
- ↑ AP, "Biden formally clinches Democratic presidential nomination," June 5, 2020
- ↑ CNBC, "Joe Biden picks Sen. Kamala Harris to be his vice presidential running mate, making her the first black woman on a major ticket," August 11, 2020
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Here’s when the 2020 Republican National Convention will be in Charlotte," October 1, 2018
- ↑ NPR, "When Has A President Been Denied His Party's Nomination?" July 22, 2009
