The U.S. Presidential Election of 2020 took place on the 2nd of November 2020, determining whether or not President Trump, whom was eligible for re-election due to the 22nd Amendment, would remain as Commander-in-Chief for four more years, or be replaced by Democratic Nominee Andrew Yang.
IN MANY WAYS, the election of 2020 had begun as soon as the election of 2016 had ended, seeing the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence pull an upset victory over the Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine. Both Trump and Clinton were polarizing figures in American politics, mired by a myriad of scandals and accusations that led to massive divisions within their respective political parties. Trump did not secure the GOP nomination with a plurality of the delegates, and Clinton (whom many believed had been destined for the presidency) barely made the nomination standing against the very popularSenator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries. Trump's unexpected victory sent shockwaves around the world, and from it emerged a new, harsher and more polarised era of American politics. Many pointed to Russian interference in the election, something that would remain unconfirmed throughout Trump's first presidential term.
Trump had been a polarising President. He ran on the premise of conservative populism and American exceptionalism, seeing an administration that oversaw the beginning of a trade war with China, relations with North Korea and a steady ending to the War on Terror. Trump's domestic policy had been significantly defined by his hawkish attitudes towards immigration and unsuccessful attempt to complete a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. He had also failed to fulfil campaign promises such as the repealing of Obamacare, balancing the budget and reducing the federal deficit, which had ironically increased from the Obama Administration. Trump had also faced numerous White House scandals, and became the third President in American history to be impeached by the House of Representatives, for an abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. However, the economy had been improving steadily until 2020, which saw the economy enter a severe recession due to the 2019-2021 coronavirus pandemic. In addition, 2020 saw widespread protests of America's criminal justice system sparked by the mishandled death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer. Going into the election, Trump's chances of re-election were shaky, and the Democrats were poised to take back the White House.
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY[]
Democratic Presidential Nominee Andrew Yang.
The Democrats were as divided as they had been in a very long time after losing the 2016 election. However, they had managed to regain the House of Representatives in the 2018 mid-term elections, and their steam had only increased going in to the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. The Democratic Primaries saw an increased divide between the moderate and progressive wings of the party, as well as a generational divide between candidates of the Obama era and those who wanted to move away from it. The first candidate to file for the election with the FEC was John Delaney, and the last was Deval Patrick. A record 25 major candidates took part in the primaries.
Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Susan Rice.
By January 2020, the race had condensed into just a handful of candidates. Massachusetts' Senator Elizabeth Warren led the pack, with New York's former Mayor Michael Bloomberg in second place. Despite him declining to run again in 2020, Bernie Sanders' 2016 Presidential Election campaign had ignited substantial political passion among younger, and oftentimes more progressive, Democrats. In addition, many of his policy proposals which had once been deemed too liberal for the party had now become mainstream. This paved the way for low-name recognition candidates such as New York's entrepreneur Andrew Yang, South Bend Indiana's Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Hawaii's Representative Tulsi Gabbard in a tight fight for their mostly-grassroots campaigns to secure a third-place finish to catapult them into the political mainstream. These once-considered fringe candidates had unexpectedly outlasted the more high-profile campaigns of California's Senator Kamala Harris and New York's Kirsten Gillibrand, and caused a significant change in the dynamic of the Democratic party. Other candidates present in the lineup included Minnesota's Senator Amy Klobuchar and California's hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, but neither had been able to break the 5% mark in national polling.
Yang 2020 official campaign logo.
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THE IOWA CAUCUS[]
| Bloomberg | Buttigieg | Gabbard | Klobuchar | Steyer | Yang | Warren |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18%
(4 delegates) |
30% (16 delegates) | 1% | 2% | 1% | 21%
(8 delegates) |
27%
(13 delegates) |
The Iowa Caucus served as a major turning point in the primary's direction, with Buttigieg winning a large share of the votes. Buttigieg's victory, and Yang's overperformance, solidified both candidates as viable alternatives to a race that had earlier on been dominated primarily by Bloomberg and Warren.
THE EARLY STATES[]
| Bloomberg | Buttigieg | Gabbard | Klobuchar | Steyer | Yang | Warren | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | 19.5%
(6 delegates) |
17%
(4 delegates) |
7% | 13.5% | 2% | 19%
(6 delegates) |
'23%'(8 delegates) |
| NEVADA | 17%
(2 delegates) |
20%
(6 delegates) |
4% | 3% | 1% | 25%
(11 delegates) |
30%(17 delegates) |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | 35%(30 delegates) | 14% | 1% | 1% | 5% | 26%
(15 delegates) |
19%
(9 delegates) |
| TOTAL DELEGATE COUNT | 42 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 47 |
Following the early state primaries, Gabbard, Klobuchar and Steyer suspended their campaigns in the wake of their primary underperformance, narrowing the race down to just four candidates. Despite Warren leading the delegate count, her lead was sparse and there remained no clear frontrunner even though Buttigieg's campaign was unfortunately in the early stages of fizzling out.
SUPER TUESDAY[]
| BLOOMBERG | BUTTIGIEG | YANG | WARREN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALABAMA | '56%'(38 delegates) | 20%
(16 delegates) |
12% | 12% |
| AMERICAN SAMOA | '50%'(4 delegates) | 5.5% | 35%
(2 delegates) |
9.5% |
| ARKANSAS | 39%(35 delegates) | 25%
(12 delegates) |
22%
(5 delegates) |
12% |
| CALIFORNIA | 15%
(21 delegates) |
6% | 42%(221 delegates) | 37%
(172 delegates) |
| COLORADO | 17%
(6 delegates) |
35%
(30 delegates) |
18%
(8 delegates) |
29%
(23 delegates) |
| MAINE | ||||
| MASSACHUSSETS | ||||
| MINNESOTA | ||||
| NORTH CAROLINA | ||||
| OKLAHOMA | ||||
| TENNESSEE | ||||
| TEXAS | ||||
| UTAH | ||||
| VERMONT | ||||
| VIRGINIA | ||||
| CUMULATIVE DELEGATE COUNT |