2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th presidential election and was held on November 3, 2020. Former vice president Joe Biden and U.S. senator Kamala Harris defeated incumbent Republican President Donald Trump and incumbent Vice President Mike Pence on the Democratic Party ticket.
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538 members of the Electoral College 270 electoral votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 The 2020 electoral map results: Blue shows states won by Biden/Harris. Red shows states won by Trump/Pence. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | Media from Commons |
 | News stories from Wikinews |
 | Data from Wikidata |
Voters selected presidential electors who then voted on December 14, 2020[5] to either elect a new president and vice president or re-elect the incumbents. On November 7, Biden won the election and became the president-elect of the United States.
Donald Trump, the 45th president, started a campaign to be president for four more years in the Republican primaries. Several state Republican Party organizations cancelled their primaries in a show of support for his candidacy.[6] He became the presumptive nominee in March 2020.
Twenty-seven major candidates started campaigns for the Democratic nomination. This was the largest number of candidates for any political party in modern-day American politics. In April 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden became the presumptive nominee after beating Senator Bernie Sanders. In August 2020, Biden picked U.S. Senator and former 2020 candidate Kamala Harris as his running mate.[7]
Some issues of the election included the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which killed over 220,000 Americans at the time of the election, protests in reaction to the murder of George Floyd and other black Americans, the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, and the Affordable Care Act, with Biden wanting to protect and expand it and Trump pushing for ending it.[8]
After the election, Donald Trump refused to accept that he lost and filed over 40 lawsuits against states and politicians trying to change the election results. The lawsuits said that the election was not fair. Almost all of the lawsuits failed in court because Trump could not prove what he said.[9][10] In some states, the votes were counted again, which still showed that Biden won.[11] After the electors voted for Biden on December 14, Trump tried other ways to overturn the election results.[12] When the electoral votes were counted in Congress on January 6-7, some Republicans voted not to count votes from certain states.[13]
Biden was inaugurated on January 20, 2021, at midday when he took the oath of office.
Background
The 2020 U.S. presidential election was the first time all members of the millennial generation were able to vote. The age group of people in the 18 to the 45-year-old area was 40 percent of those able to vote in 2020.
The United States House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump on December 18, 2019, making him the third president in American history to be impeached.[14] He was acquitted by the United States Senate on February 5, 2020.[15]
Mail voting
More people voted by mail in the United States, with 25% of voters nationwide mailing their ballots in 2016 and 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 means there has been an increase in mail voting because of the possible danger of large groups at polling places.[16] For the 2020 election, a state-by-state analysis found that 76% of Americans are eligible to vote by mail in 2020, a record number. The analysis predicted that 80 million ballots could be cast by mail in 2020—more than double the number in 2016.[17] The Postal Service sent a letter to multiple states in July 2020, warning that the service would not be able to meet the state's deadlines for requesting and casting last-minute absentee ballots.[18]
President Trump was critical of voting by mail saying that it would make it easier for voter fraud to happen.[19] Many people dropped their votes in voting boxes in their voting places instead of going to the polls.[20]
Republican Party
Nominees
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Donald Trump | Mike Pence | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President of the United States (2017-2021) | Vice President of the United States (2017-2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other candidates
| Candidates in this section are sorted by state ballot access | |||||||
| Bill Weld | Joe Walsh | Rocky De La Fuente | Zoltan Istvan | Mark Sanford | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | .jpg) | .jpg) | .jpg) | _(cropped).jpg) | |||
| 2016 Libertarian vice presidential nominee 68th Governor of Massachusetts (1991–1997) | U.S. Representative from Illinois (2011–2013) | Businessman Reform nominee for President in 2016 | Transhumanist | U.S. Representative from South Carolina (1995–2001, 2013–2019) 68th Governor (1998–2002) | |||
 Campaign FEC filing[21] |  Campaign FEC filing[22] |  Campaign FEC filing[23] | FEC filing[24] |  Campaign FEC filing[25] | |||
| Exploratory Committee: February 15, 2019 Announced: April 15, 2019 Suspended: March 18, 2020 | Announced: August 25, 2019 Suspended: February 7, 2020 Endorsed Joe Biden (Democrat)[26] | Announced: May 16, 2019 | Announced: November 18, 2019 Suspended: March 12, 2020 | Announced: September 8, 2019 Suspended: November 12, 2019 | |||
| 1 delegate 286,564 votes | 169,713 votes | 73,119 votes | 14,291 votes | 4,258 votes | |||
| [27][28] | [29][30] | [31] | [32][33] | [34][35] | |||
Convention site
On July 20, 2018, the Republican National Convention chose Charlotte, North Carolina as the site for their 2020 national convention. The convention was held between August 24 to 27.[36] In June 2020, the convention location was moved to Jacksonville, Florida over COVID-19 health measures.
National polling
| Polling Aggregation | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source of poll aggregation | Date updated | Dates polled | Donald Trump | Bill Weld | Joe Walsh | Other and undecided[c] | |||
| 270 to Win | Feb 19, 2020 | Feb 18 – 19, 2020 | 91.0% | 5.0% | - | ||||
| RealClearPolitics | Feb 11, 2020 | Dec 10, 2019 – Feb 11, 2020 | 89.3% | 4.0% | 3.5% | ||||
| Average | 90.2% | 4.5% | 3.5% | 1.8% | |||||
Democratic Party
Nominees
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joe Biden | Kamala Harris | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 47th Vice President of the United States (2009–2017) | U.S. Senator from California (2017–2021) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Withdrawn candidates
| Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the primaries | ||||||||
| Bernie Sanders | Tulsi Gabbard | Elizabeth Warren | Michael Bloomberg | Amy Klobuchar | Pete Buttigieg | Tom Steyer | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | _(cropped).jpg) | .jpg) | .jpg) | .jpg) |  |  | ||
| U.S. senator from Vermont (2007–present) U.S. representative from VT-AL (1991–2007) | U.S. representative from HI-02 (2013–2021) | U.S. senator from Massachusetts (2013–present) | Mayor of New York City, New York (2002–2013) CEO of Bloomberg L.P. | U.S. senator from Minnesota (2007–present) | Mayor of South Bend, Indiana (2012–2020) | Hedge fund manager Founder of Farallon Capital and Beneficial State Bank | ||
 |  |  |  |  | .svg){kind=logo} | .svg){kind=logo} | ||
| Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | ||
| W: April 8, 2020
| W: March 19, 2020 (endorsed Biden) | W: March 5, 2020
| W: March 4, 2020 (endorsed Biden) | W: March 2, 2020 (endorsed Biden) | W: March 1, 2020 (endorsed Biden) | W: February 29, 2020
| ||
| [37][38] | [39][40] | [41][42] | [43][44] | [45][46] | [47][48] | [49][50] | ||
| Deval Patrick | Michael Bennet | Andrew Yang | John Delaney | Cory Booker | Marianne Williamson | Julián Castro | ||
 |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||
| Governor of Massachusetts (2007–2015) | U.S. senator from Colorado (2009–present) | Entrepreneur Founder of Venture for America | U.S. representative from MD-06 (2013–2019) | U.S. senator from New Jersey (2013–present) Mayor of Newark, New Jersey (2006–2013) | Author Founder of Project Angel Food | Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (2014–2017) Mayor of San Antonio, Texas (2009–2014) | ||
 |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||
| Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | ||
| W: February 12, 2020 (endorsed Biden) | W: February 11, 2020
| W: February 11, 2020 (endorsed Biden) | W: January 31, 2020 (endorsed Biden) | W: January 13, 2020 (endorsed Biden) | W: January 10, 2020 (endorsed Sanders) | W: January 2, 2020 (endorsed Warren) | ||
| [51][52] | [53][54] | [55][56] | [57][58] | [59][60] | [61][62] | [63][64] | ||
| Kamala Harris | Steve Bullock | Joe Sestak | Wayne Messam | Beto O'Rourke | Tim Ryan | Bill de Blasio | ||
 |  | _(cropped).jpg) | .jpg) |  |  |  | ||
| U.S. senator from California (2017–2021) Attorney General of California (2011–2017) | Governor of Montana (2013–present) Attorney General of Montana (2009–2013) | U.S. representative from PA-07 (2007–2011) Former Vice Admiral of the United States Navy | Mayor[broken anchor] of Miramar, Florida (2015–present) | U.S. representative from TX-16 (2013–2019) | U.S. representative from OH-13 (2013–present) U.S. representative from OH-17 (2003–2013) | Mayor of New York City, New York (2014–present) | ||
 |  | — |  |  |  |  | ||
| Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | ||
| W: December 2, 2019 (became Biden's VP) | W: December 3, 2019 (endorsed Biden) | W: December 1, 2019 (endorsed Klobuchar) | W: November 19, 2019
| W: November 1, 2019 (endorsed Biden) | W: October 24, 2019 (endorsed Biden) | W: September 20, 2019 (endorsed Sanders) | ||
| [65][66] | [67][68] | [69][70] | [71][72] | [73][74] | [75][76] | [77][78] | ||
| Kirsten Gillibrand | Seth Moulton | Jay Inslee | John Hickenlooper | Mike Gravel | Eric Swalwell | Richard Ojeda | ||
 |  |  |  |  | _(cropped).jpg) |  | ||
| U.S. senator from New York (2009–present) U.S. representative from NY-20 (2007–2009) | U.S. representative from MA-06 (2015–present) | Governor of Washington (2013–present) U.S. representative from WA-01 (1999–2012) U.S. representative from WA-04 (1993–1995) | Governor of Colorado (2011–2019) Mayor of Denver, Colorado (2003–2011) | U.S. senator from Alaska (1969–1981) | U.S. representative from CA-15 (2013–present) | West Virginia state senator from WV-SD07 (2016–2019) | ||
 |  |  |  |  |  | — | ||
| Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | ||
| W: August 28, 2019 (endorsed Biden) | W: August 23, 2019 (endorsed Biden) | W: August 21, 2019
| W: August 15, 2019 (endorsed Bennet) | W: August 6, 2019 (endorsed Gabbard and Sanders) | W: July 8, 2019
| W: January 25, 2019
| ||
| [79][80] | [81][82] | [83][84] | [85][86] | [87][88] | [89][90] | [91][92] | ||
Convention site
The 2020 Democratic National Convention happened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 13–16, 2020.[93][94]
National polling
| Source of poll aggregation | Date updated | Dates polled | Biden | Sanders | Undecided[e] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 270toWin | Mar 19, 2020 | Mar 11–18, 2020 [f] | 55.0% | 34.4% | 10.6% |
| FiveThirtyEight | Mar 19, 2020 | Mar 8-17, 2020 [g] | 51.5% | 32.6% | 15.9% |
| RealClear Politics | Mar 19, 2020 | Mar 8–16, 2020 | 55.7% | 35.3% | 9.0% |
| Average | 54.1% | 34.1% | 11.8% | ||
General election polling
Trump vs. Biden
| Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source of poll aggregation | Dates administered | Dates updated | Joe Biden | Donald Trump | Other/Undecided[h] | Margin |
| 270 to Win | Oct 14–18, 2020 | Oct 20, 2020 | 50.0% | 43.6% | 6.4% | Biden +6.4 |
| RealClear Politics | Oct 6–19, 2020 | Oct 21, 2020 | 50.6% | 43.1% | 6.3% | Biden +7.5 |
| FiveThirtyEight | until Oct 20, 2020 | Oct 21, 2020 | 52.1% | 42.2% | 5.7% | Biden +9.9 |
| Average | 50.9% | 43.0% | 6.1% | Biden +7.9 | ||
4-way race
| Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden vs. Jo Jorgensen vs. Howie Hawkins | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source of poll aggregation | Dates administered | Dates updated | Joe Biden | Donald Trump | Jo Jorgensen | Howie Hawkins | Other/Undecided[i] | Margin |
| 270 to Win | Oct 16–21, 2020 | Oct 21, 2020 | 50.2% | 42.4% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 4.8% | Biden +7.8 |
| RealClear Politics | Oct 15 – Oct 20, 2020 | Oct 21, 2020 | 50.5% | 43.0% | 2.5% | 0.8% | 3.2% | Biden +7.5 |
Libertarian Party
Though Jacob Hornberger won the most primaries and received the most votes, Jo Jorgensen was chosen as the party's presidential nominee on the night of May 23, 2020, after four rounds of voting.[95]
Nominees
| 2020 Libertarian Party ticket | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jo Jorgensen | Spike Cohen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) | .jpg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior Lecturer at Clemson University | Podcaster and businessman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Withdrawn candidates
| Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal | |||||
| Jacob Hornberger | Vermin Supreme | John Monds | James P. Gray | Adam Kokesh | Dan Behrman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_(2).jpg) |  |  |  | .jpg) | .jpg) |
| Founder and President of the Future of Freedom Foundation | Performance artist, activist, and political satirist | Former President of the Grady County, Georgia NAACP | Former presiding judge for the Superior Court of Orange County, California | Libertarian and anti-war political activist | Software engineer and podcaster |
 |  | — | — | — |  |
| — | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | — |
| W: May 23, 2020 8,986 votes (20.55%) 236 first round delegates | W: May 23, 2020 4,288 votes (9.81%) 171 first round delegates | W: May 23, 2020 1 vote (<0.01%) 147 first round delegates | W: May 23, 2020 42 votes (0.10%) 98 first round delegates | W: May 23, 2020 2,728 votes (6.24%) 77 first round delegates | W: May 23, 2020 2,337 votes (5.34%) 0 first round delegates |
| [95] | [95] | [96] | [97] | [98] | [99] |
| Sam Robb | Justin Amash | Ken Armstrong | Lincoln Chafee | Max Abramson | Kim Ruff |
.jpg) | .jpg) |  | .jpg) | .jpg) | |
| Software engineer and author Former naval officer | U.S. representative from MI-03 (2011-present) | U.S. Coast Guard commissioned officer (1977–1994) | Governor of Rhode Island (2011–2015) U.S. Senator from Rhode Island (1999–2007) | New Hampshire State Representative (2014–2016; 2018–present) | Vice chair of the LPRadical Caucus |
 | — | — | — |  |  |
| Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | Campaign | — |
| W: May 23, 2020 1,943 votes (5.06%) 0 first round delegates | W: May 17, 2020 3 votes (0.01%) 17 first round delegates | W: April 29, 2020 3,509 votes (8.03%) 0 first round delegates | W: April 5, 2020 294 votes (0.67%) 1 (write-in) first round delegate | W: March 3, 2020 2,052 votes (5.34%) 0 first round delegates | W: January 11, 2020 3,045 votes (7.93%) 0 first round delegates |
| [99] | [100] | [101] | [102] | [103] | [104] |
Convention site
On December 10, 2017, the Libertarian National Committee chose Austin, Texas as the site of their 2020 national convention. The convention was going to be held there between May 22–25, 2020.[105][106] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was held through an online convention from May 22 to May 24.[107]
Green Party
Nominee
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| Howie Hawkins | Angela Walker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) | .jpg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Co-founder of the Green Party | ATU Local 998 Legislative Director (2011–2013) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Withdrawn candidates
| Candidates in this section are sorted by popular vote | |||||
| Dario Hunter Officially Recognized | Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry | Dennis Lambert | David Rolde Officially Recognized | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | .png) | .jpg) | _(1).jpg) | ||
| Member of the Youngstown Board of Education (2016–2020) | Activist | Documentary Filmmaker | Co-chair of the Greater Boston Chapter of the Green-Rainbow Party | ||
 | — | — | — | ||
| Campaign | — | — | — | ||
| 3,087 votes (18.1%) 67.5 delegates | 2,229 votes (2.9%) 10 delegates | 2,029 votes (2.6%) 9 delegates | 960 votes (1.6%) 5.5 delegates | ||
| [108] | [109] | [110] | [111] | ||
Convention site
The 2020 Green National Convention was held in Detroit, Michigan from July 9-12. Greenville, South Carolina and Spartanburg, South Carolina were also considered to host the convention.[112]
Minor third party candidates
Party for Socialism and Liberation
| 2020 Party for Socialism and Liberation ticket[114][115] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gloria La Riva | Sunil Freeman[j] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Activist and writer from California | Author and activist from the District of Columbia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Additional Party Nominations: | Liberty Union Party Peace and Freedom Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alliance Party
| 2020 Alliance Party ticket[k][117] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rocky De La Fuente | Darcy Richardson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Businessman and perennial candidate from California | Author, historian and political activist from Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Additional Party nominations: | Reform Party (United States) Natural Law Party of Michigan American Independent Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Constitution Party
| 2020 Constitution Party ticket[l][120] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Don Blankenship | William Mohr | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpeg){kind=spacer} | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former CEO of Massey Energy from West Virginia | Chairman of the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan from Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
American Solidarity Party
| 2020 American Solidarity Party ticket[122][123] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brian T. Carroll | Amar Patel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teacher from California | Chairman of the ASP from Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Prohibition Party
| 2020 Prohibition Party ticket[124] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Phil Collins | Billy Joe Parker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former Libertyville Township (IL) Trustee from Nevada | Former Marine from Georgia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Independent candidates
Various independent candidate campaigns were on the ballot in several states, among the most notable of these are billionaire and child actor Brock Pierce and rapper Kanye West.[125]
Brock Pierce
| Independent[127][128] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brock Pierce | Karla Ballard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Director of the Bitcoin Foundation and former actor from Puerto Rico | Entrepreneur from Pennsylvania | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Additional Party nominations: | American Shopping Party[129] Independence Party of New York[130] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kanye West
| 2020 Birthday Party ticket[m][132][133] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kanye West | Michelle Tidball | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| for President | for Vice President | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rapper, producer and fashion designer from Illinois | Preacher from Wyoming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campaign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ballot access
| Presidential ticket | Party | Ballot access | Votes | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| States | Electors | % of voters | ||||
| Trump / Pence | Republican | 50 + DC | 538 | 100% | ||
| Biden / Harris | Democratic | 50 + DC | 538 | 100% | ||
| Jorgensen / Cohen | Libertarian | 50 + DC | 538 | 100% | ||
| Hawkins / Walker | Green | 29 + DC | 381 | 73.8% | ||
| La Riva / Freeman | Socialism and Liberation | 14 + DC | 195 | 37.7% | ||
| De La Fuente / Richardson | Alliance | 16 | 186 | 34.6% | ||
| Carroll / Patel | American Solidarity | 8 | 66 | 11.1% | ||
- Candidates in bold are on ballots representing ≥270 electoral votes, without needing write-in states.
- All other candidates do not have ballot access adding up to more than 270 electoral votes, but have write-in access to at least 270.
Debates
Three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate were scheduled.[134] The second presidential debate was cancelled, because Trump was ill with COVID-19.[135] The presidential candidates still debated in the third debate.
| No. | Date | Time | Host | City | Moderator(s) | Participants | Viewership (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | September 29, 2020 | 9:00 p.m. EDT | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, Ohio | Chris Wallace | Donald Trump Joe Biden | 73.1[136] |
| VP | October 7, 2020 | 7:00 p.m. MDT | University of Utah | Salt Lake City, Utah | Susan Page | Mike Pence Kamala Harris | 57.9[137] |
| P2 | October 22, 2020 | 8:00 p.m. CDT | Belmont University | Nashville, Tennessee | Kristen Welker | Donald Trump Joe Biden | 63[138] |
Results
| Candidates and home states | Party | Votes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presidential | Home state | Vice Presidential | Home state | Popular | Electoral | ||
| Joe Biden | Delaware | Kamala Harris | California | Democratic | 81,268,924 | 306 | |
| Donald Trump (incumbent) | Florida | Mike Pence | Indiana | Republican | 74,216,154 | 232 | |
| Jo Jorgensen | South Carolina | Spike Cohen | South Carolina | Libertarian | 1,865,724 | 0 | |
| Howie Hawkins | New York | Angela Nicole Walker | South Carolina | Green | 405,035 | 0 | |
| Rocky De La Fuente | California | Darcy Richardson | Florida | Alliance | 88,234 | 0 | |
| Kanye West | Wyoming | American Independent | |||||
| Gloria La Riva | California | Sunil Freeman[n] | District of Columbia | Socialism and Liberation | 85,263 | 0 | |
| Kanye West | Wyoming | Michelle Tidball | Wyoming | Birthday | 70,296 | 0 | |
| Don Blankenship | West Virginia | William Mohr | Michigan | Constitution | 60,148 | 0 | |
| Brock Pierce | Puerto Rico | Karla Ballard | Pennsylvania | Independent | 49,700 | 0 | |
| Brian T. Carroll | California | Amar Patel | Illinois | American Solidarity | 39,230 | 0 | |
| Alyson Kennedy | Malcolm Jarrett | Socialist Workers | 6,791 | 0 | |||
| Bill Hammonds | Eric Bodenstab | Unity | 6,647 | 0 | |||
| Jade Simmons | Independent | 6,534 | 0 | ||||
| Jerome Segal | John de Graaf | Bread & Roses | 5,949 | 0 | |||
| Dario Hunter | Dawn Neptune Adams | Progressive | 5,394 | 0 | |||
| Phil Collins | Billy Joe Parker | Prohibition | 4,844 | 0 | |||
| Jesse Ventura | Cynthia McKinney | Green of Alaska | 3,284 | 0 | |||
| President Boddie | Eric Stoneham | C.U.P | 3,171 | 0 | |||
| Joe McHugh | Elizabeth Storm | Independent | 2,843 | 0 | |||
| Mark Charles | Adrian Wallace | Independent | 2,662 | 0 | |||
| Sheila Tittle | Independent | 1,806 | 0 | ||||
| Conie Gammon | Phil Collins | Independent | 1,475 | 0 | |||
| J.R. Myers | Tiara Lusk | Life and Liberty | 1,372 | 0 | |||
| Tom Hoefling | Andy Prior | Independent | 1,241 | 0 | |||
| H. Brooke Paige | Thomas Witman | Grumpy Old Patriots | 1,175 | 0 | |||
| Christopher Lafontaine | Michael Speed | Independent | 856 | 0 | |||
| Kyle Kenley Kopitke | Independent | 815 | 0 | ||||
| Ricki Sue King | Dayna Chandler | Geanology Know Your Family History | 546 | 0 | |||
| Princess Khadijah Maryam Jacob-Fambro | Khadijah Maryam Jacob Sr. | Independent | 497 | 0 | |||
| Blake Huber | Frank Atwood | Aprooval Voting | 409 | 0 | |||
| Joseph Kishore | Noorisa Santa Cruz | Socialist Equality | 317 | 0 | |||
| Richard Duncan | Mitch Bupp | Independent | 213 | 0 | |||
| Jordan Marc Scott | Jennifer Tepool | Independent | 175 | 0 | |||
| Gary Swing | David Olszta | Boiling Frog | 141 | 0 | |||
| Keith McCormic | Sam Blasiak | Bull Moose | 126 | 0 | |||
| Zachary Scalf | Matthew Lyda | Independent | 29 | 0 | |||
Total | 158,383,403 | 538 | |||||
After the election
After the election, Trump, and many of his supporters, said that he only lost because of fraud or conspiracies. In early December, only a quarter of Republicans believed that Biden was the real winner of the election.[142] Trump did not accept Biden's win until January 7.[143]
Lawsuits
Trump and his lawyers filed over 40 lawsuits after the election, in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Biden won each of these states by a small number of votes.[9][10] Some lawsuits said that states should not allow more time to collect ballots in the mail, and some said that voters should not be allowed to put ballots in drop boxes. Other lawsuits said that election workers did not make sure all signatures were correct.[10] Judges rejected most of the lawsuits because they did not have evidence. The Trump campaign only won one lawsuit.[9]
Many of the lawsuits asked states to remove thousands of votes, and others asked for the states to ignore the results of the election.[10] In December, the Attorney General of Texas filed a lawsuit (Texas v. Pennsylvania) against Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, and Wisconsin, in front of the Supreme Court. It asked the court to stop these states from certifying their votes. Over 100 Republicans in the House of Representatives supported it. However, the Supreme Court rejected it and said Texas did not have standing.[144]
Trump campaign tries to overturn the election
After lawsuits failed, Trump said many times that the election was "rigged". From November to January, Trump and his lawyers made phone calls to many election officials, and told them that they should not certify the votes for Biden. In the calls, they said many things which were false.[145] On January 2, Trump called the Georgia Secretary of State and told him that Georgia (where Biden was the winner) should find more votes for Trump, so Trump could win.[146]
Electoral college count
On January 6-7, members of Congress counted the votes of the Electoral College. Some Republican members of Congress signed objections to the votes (they thought the votes should not be counted) from Arizona and Pennsylvania. By the end, seven Republican senators and 138 Republican representatives voted not to count these votes.[147] Half of senators and half of the representatives must vote to throw out electoral votes. Congress has never thrown out electoral votes.[148]
While Congress was counting the votes on January 6, Far-right terrorists broke into the US Capitol building in protest. Members of Congress hid for hours until police forced the protestors to leave.[149]
Related pages
- Learn more about the election process:
