2020 United States presidential election in Delaware
← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →
Turnout68.86%[1] Increase 3.51 pp
 
Nominee Joe Biden Donald Trump
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Delaware Florida
Running mate Kamala Harris Mike Pence
Electoral vote 3 0
Popular vote 296,268 200,603
Percentage 58.74% 39.77%
President before election

Donald Trump
Republican

Elected President

Joe Biden
Democratic

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The 2020 United States presidential election in Delaware was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated.[3] Delaware voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump from Florida, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence from Indiana against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris. Delaware has three electoral votes in the Electoral College.[4]

Delaware is the home state of Biden, who represented the state in the U.S. Senate for 36 years from 1973 to 2009. Biden defeated Trump in the state by 19 points, a significant improvement over Hillary Clinton's 11% margin over Trump in 2016, and even a slight improvement over Barack Obama's margin in 2012, when Biden was his running mate. Biden flipped the swing county of Kent, while Sussex County, which last voted Democratic on the Presidential level when Bill Clinton carried it in 1996, stayed Republican, although Biden previously carried the county in six of his seven runs to the Senate. Delaware's remaining county, New Castle—home to Biden's hometown of Wilmington and part of both the Northeast megalopolis and the Philadelphia metropolitan area, containing 55% of the state's population—stayed Democratic, having last voted Republican when George H. W. Bush carried it in 1988, also the last time the state voted for the Republican nominee. Biden's margin in New Castle County would have been more than enough to carry the state; he carried his home county by over 106,000 votes, far exceeding his statewide margin of 96,000 votes.

Per exit polls by the Associated Press, Biden's strength in his home state came from African-Americans with 91%; and Caucasians with 50%, including those with a college degree with 54%. 59% of Delawarean voters had a favorable opinion of him.[5] Biden won overwhelmingly in his hometown of Wilmington, earning 26,698 votes to Trump's 3,580.[6]

With Biden's victory nationwide, he became the first person representing Delaware ever elected President of the United States.

Primary elections

The primary elections were originally scheduled for April 28, 2020. On March 24, they were moved to June 2 due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 7, the primary elections were again postponed to July 7.[7][8] By that time, President Donald Trump of the Republican Party and former Vice President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party had already clinched enough delegates to become the presumptive nominees of their respective parties. This was Biden's third presidential attempt, as he had previously campaigned in the 1988 and 2008 Democratic presidential primaries but failed to secure the nomination both times.

Republican primary

Incumbent President Donald Trump was essentially uncontested in the Republican primary.[9] The state has 16 delegates to the 2020 Republican National Convention.[10]

However, Trump was not unopposed: Rocky De La Fuente took 12% of the vote, with Trump polling 88%.[11]

2020 Delaware Republican presidential primary[12]
Candidate Votes % Delegates[13]
Donald Trump 28,876 88.05% 16
Rocky De La Fuente 3,920 11.95%
Total 32,796 100% 16

Democratic primary

2020 Delaware Democratic presidential primary[14]
Candidate Votes % Delegates[15]
Joe Biden 81,954 89.39 21
Bernie Sanders (withdrawn) 6,878 7.50
Elizabeth Warren (withdrawn) 2,850 3.11
Total 91,682 100% 21

General election

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[16] Safe D September 10, 2020
Inside Elections[17] Safe D September 4, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball[18] Safe D July 14, 2020
Politico[19] Safe D September 8, 2020
RCP[20] Safe D August 3, 2020
Niskanen[21] Safe D July 26, 2020
CNN[22] Safe D August 3, 2020
The Economist[23] Safe D September 2, 2020
CBS News[24] Likely D August 16, 2020
270towin[25] Safe D August 2, 2020
ABC News[26] Safe D July 31, 2020
NPR[27] Likely D August 3, 2020
NBC News[28] Safe D August 6, 2020
538[29] Safe D September 9, 2020

Polling

Graph of opinion polls conducted. Trend lines represent local regressions.

Aggregate polls

Source of poll
aggregation 		Dates
administered 		Dates
updated 		Joe
Biden
Democratic 		Donald
Trump
Republican 		Other/
Undecided
[a] 		Margin
270 to Win October 5 – November 1, 2020 November 3, 2020 57.5% 35.5% 7.0% Biden +22.0
FiveThirtyEight until November 2, 2020 November 3, 2020 58.9% 34.6% 6.5% Biden +24.3
Average 58.2% 35.1% 6.8% Biden +23.2
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[b] 		Margin
of error 		Donald
Trump
Republican 		Joe
Biden
Democratic 		Jo
Jorgensen
Libertarian 		Howie
Hawkins
Green 		Undecided
SurveyMonkey/Axios Oct 20 – Nov 2, 2020 656 (LV) ± 6% 38%[c] 60% - - –
SurveyMonkey/Axios Oct 1–28, 2020 1,323 (LV) – 37% 62% - - –
SurveyMonkey/Axios Sep 1–30, 2020 395 (LV) – 37% 61% - - 2%
University of Delaware Sep 21–27, 2020 847 (LV) – 33% 54% 2% 1% 10%[d]
SurveyMonkey/Axios Aug 1–31, 2020 348 (LV) – 32% 67% - - 1%
PPP Aug 21–22, 2020 710 (V) ± 3.7% 37% 58% - - 5%
SurveyMonkey/Axios Jul 1–31, 2020 453 (LV) – 31% 67% - - 2%
SurveyMonkey/Axios Jun 8–30, 2020 232 (LV) – 34% 64% - - 2%
Gonzales Research Jan 16–21, 2020 410 (LV) ± 5.0% 40% 56% - - 4%
Former candidates
Donald Trump vs. Michael Bloomberg
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[b] 		Margin
of error 		Donald
Trump (R) 		Michael
Bloomberg (D) 		Undecided
Gonzales Research Jan 16–21, 2020 410 (LV) ± 5.0% 47% 48% 5%
Donald Trump vs. Pete Buttigieg
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[b] 		Margin
of error 		Donald
Trump (R) 		Pete
Buttigieg (D) 		Undecided
Gonzales Research Jan 16–21, 2020 410 (LV) ± 5.0% 45% 50% 5%
Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[b] 		Margin
of error 		Donald
Trump (R) 		Bernie
Sanders (D) 		Undecided
Gonzales Research Jan 16–21, 2020 410 (LV) ± 5.0% 46% 47% 7%
Donald Trump vs. Elizabeth Warren
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[b] 		Margin
of error 		Donald
Trump (R) 		Elizabeth
Warren (D) 		Undecided
Gonzales Research Jan 16–21, 2020 410 (LV) ± 5.0% 46% 49% 5%

Results

2020 United States presidential election in Delaware[30][31]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic
296,268 58.74 +5.65
Republican
200,603 39.77 –1.95
Libertarian
5,000 0.99 –2.34
Green
2,139 0.42 –0.95
Independent Kanye West (write-in) 169 0.03 N/A
American Solidarity Brian T. Carroll (write-in) 87 0.02 N/A
Independent
28 0.01 N/A
Socialism and Liberation Gloria La Riva (write-in) 14 0.00 N/A
Independent Mark Charles (write-in) 8 0.00 N/A
Independent Barbara Bellar (write-in) 7 0.00 N/A
Independent
5 0.00 N/A
Independent Shawn Howard (write-in) 4 0.00 N/A
American Party of America[32] Dennis Ball (write-in) 3 0.00 N/A
Independent Todd Cella (write-in) 2 0.00 N/A
Independent Princess Khadijah Maryam Jacob-Fambro (write-in) 2 0.00 N/A
Independent Mitchell Williams (write-in) 2 0.00 N/A
Independent
1 0.00 N/A
Independent President Boddie (write-in) 1 0.00 N/A
Independent Kathryn Gibson (write-in) 1 0.00 N/A
Independent Kasey Wells (write-in) 1 0.00 N/A
Independent Deborah Rouse (write-in) 1 0.00 N/A
Total votes 504,346 100% +13.64
Democratic win

Results by county

County Joe Biden
Democratic 		Donald Trump
Republican 		Various candidates
Other parties 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # % # %
Kent 44,552 51.19% 41,009 47.12% 1,464 1.69% 3,543 4.07% 87,025
New Castle 195,034 67.81% 88,364 30.72% 4,235 1.47% 106,670 37.09% 287,633
Sussex 56,682 43.82% 71,230 55.07% 1,440 1.11% -14,548 -11.25% 129,352
Totals 296,268 58.74% 200,603 39.77% 7,475 1.49% 95,665 18.97% 504,346

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

Due to the state's low population, only one congressional district is allocated. This district is called the At-Large district, because it covers the entire state, and thus is equivalent to the statewide election results.

District Trump Biden Representative
At-large 39.77% 58.74% Lisa Blunt Rochester

Turnout

According to the Delaware's Elections website, voter turnout was 68.86% with 509,241 ballots cast out of 739,570 registered voters.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
  2. ^ a b c d e Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  3. ^ Overlapping sample with the previous SurveyMonkey/Axios poll, but more information available regarding sample size
  4. ^ "None/other/undecided" with 10%

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "2020 General Election Results". Delaware Department of Elections. November 11, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  2. ^ "Delaware Election Results 2020". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  3. ^ Kelly, Ben (August 13, 2018). "US elections key dates: When are the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential campaign?". The Independent. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  4. ^ "Distribution of Electoral Votes". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  5. ^ "Delaware Voter Surveys: How Different Groups Voted". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  6. ^ "Delaware Election Results". Delaware Department of Elections. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  7. ^ "Delaware primary elections moved to July 7 due to COVID-19 pandemic". WPVI-TV. May 7, 2020.
  8. ^ "Delaware presidential primary delayed because of coronavirus". Associated Press. March 24, 2020.
  9. ^ "Biden, Trump easily win in Delaware primary". Newark Post. Associated Press. July 7, 2020.
  10. ^ "Delaware Republican Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "July 07, 2020 Presidential Primary Report". elections.delaware.gov. July 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "Delaware Election Results". Department of Elections. Delaware Department of Elections. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  13. ^ "Delegate Tracker". interactives.ap.org. Associated Press. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Delaware Election Results". Department of Elections. Delaware Department of Elections. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "Delegate Tracker". interactives.ap.org. Associated Press. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  16. ^ "2020 POTUS Race ratings" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  17. ^ "POTUS Ratings | Inside Elections". insideelections.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  18. ^ "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2020 President". crystalball.centerforpolitics.org. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  19. ^ "2020 Election Forecast". Politico. November 19, 2019.
  20. ^ "Battle for White House". RCP. April 19, 2019.
  21. ^ 2020 Bitecofer Model Electoral College Predictions Archived April 23, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Niskanen Center, March 24, 2020, retrieved: April 19, 2020.
  22. ^ David Chalian; Terence Burlij (June 11, 2020). "Road to 270: CNN's debut Electoral College map for 2020". CNN. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  23. ^ "Forecasting the US elections". The Economist. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  24. ^ "2020 Election Battleground Tracker". CBS News. July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  25. ^ "2020 Presidential Election Interactive Map". 270 to Win.
  26. ^ "ABC News Race Ratings". CBS News. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  27. ^ Montanaro, Domenico (August 3, 2020). "2020 Electoral Map Ratings: Trump Slides, Biden Advantage Expands Over 270 Votes". NPR.org. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  28. ^ "Biden dominates the electoral map, but here's how the race could tighten". NBC News. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  29. ^ "2020 Election Forecast". FiveThirtyEight. August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  30. ^ Federal Election Commission (January 28, 2021). "2020 Presidential General Election Results" (PDF). pp. 2–8. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  31. ^ Delaware Department of Elections. "Official Write-In Votes – 2020 General Election" (PDF). p. 1. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  32. ^ Peddie, Matthew (October 30, 2020). "Third Party Presidential Candidate Dennis Ball Makes His Case To Voters". WMFE-FM. Retrieved December 8, 2021.

Further reading

External links

(2019 โ†) ย  2020 United States elections ย  (โ†’ 2021)
State and district results of the 2020 United States presidential election
Elections in Delaware
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