The 2020 United States Presidential Election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Democratic nominee Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont and his running mate Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii defeated incumbent President Michael Richard Pence and his running mate Vice President Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Bernie Sanders, upon his inauguration, became the oldest person ever to be elected President of the United States.
Background[]
Donald J. Trump won the presidency in 2016. The impeachment of Donald Trump was initiated by the House of Representatives in early January of 2020 and led to the trial in the Senate of Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States on two charges, one of them being obstruction of justice and the other being conspiracy to commit collusion. These charges stemmed from the Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Trump was found guilty of the obstruction of justice charge on June 28th, 2019, and removed from office, the first in American history.
Leading to the impeachment, Independent Counsel Robert Mueller turned over documents to the House Judiciary Committee. The Chief Prosecutor and their team reviewed over the documentation and announced that there was sufficient evidence to impeach the president. The two charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to collude were considered and passed the House of Representatives. This would make Trump the third president to be impeached (after Clinton and Johnson), and after the conclusion of the Senate trial, the first president in American history to be removed from office.
The trial would take place during the 116th Congress, in which Republicans would hold 51 seats, while the Democrats would hold 49 of those seats. A two-thirds vote (67 votes required) was needed to remove Trump. Exactly 67 Senators would vote to remove Trump on one of the charges, involving the flipping of 18 GOP senators which has been considered one of the biggest shocks in American political history and ultimate betrayal of the party itself. Trump would be the first president in American history to be removed from office. Vice President Pence assumed office in January of 2020 and nominated former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as Vice President.
Primaries[]
Democratic Party
With thirteen major candidates entering the race, starting with John Delaney on July 28, 2017, this was the largest presidential primary field for the Democratic party in American history. Those candidates were, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, John Hickenlooper, Julian Castro, John Delaney, Jay Inslee, Pete Buttigieg, Sherrod Brown, and Tulsi Gabbard.
Republican Party
Utah Senator Mitt Romney was the primary opponent of President Pence; Bill Weld, the Libertarian Party's vice presidential nominee in 2016, had planned to run against the President, but dropped out shortly after Romney's entry.
General Election[]
The General Election campaign was focused on the issues of the economy and trade, immigration, healthcare, and taxes.
The Pence campaign had the slogan "Keep America Great!". He campaigned across the nation, mainly in key swing states such as Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio and New Hampshire. Pence mainly talked about his accomplishments as president and the economy.
The Sanders campaign had the slogan "Not Me, Us". He campaigned mainly in the Midwest and the northeast. Sanders mainly talked about his platform and the scandals of the president.
