2020 United States presidential election in Delaware
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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.[2] 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, of Deleware, and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris. Delaware has three electoral votes in the Electoral College.[3]
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November 3, 2020
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| Turnout | 68.86%[1]  3.51 pp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Biden, who represented the state in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009, 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, exceeding his statewide margin of 95,665 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.[4] Biden won overwhelmingly in his hometown of Wilmington, earning 26,698 votes to Trump's 3,580.[5]
With Biden's victory nationwide, he became the first person representing Delaware ever elected president.
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.[6][7] 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.[8] The state has 16 delegates to the 2020 Republican National Convention.[9]
However, Trump was not unopposed: Rocky De La Fuente took 12% of the vote, with Trump polling 88%.[10]
| Candidate | Votes | % | Delegates[12] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump (incumbent) | 28,876 | 88.05% | 16 |
| Rocky De La Fuente | 3,920 | 11.95% | |
| Total | 32,796 | 100% | 16 |
Democratic primary
| Candidate | Votes | % | Delegates[14] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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[15] | Safe D | September 10, 2020 |
| Inside Elections[16] | Safe D | September 4, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[17] | Safe D | July 14, 2020 |
| Politico[18] | Safe D | September 8, 2020 |
| RCP[19] | Safe D | August 3, 2020 |
| Niskanen[20] | Safe D | July 26, 2020 |
| CNN[21] | Safe D | August 3, 2020 |
| The Economist[22] | Safe D | September 2, 2020 |
| CBS News[23] | Likely D | August 16, 2020 |
| 270towin[24] | Safe D | August 2, 2020 |
| ABC News[25] | Safe D | July 31, 2020 |
| NPR[26] | Likely D | August 3, 2020 |
| NBC News[27] | Safe D | August 6, 2020 |
| 538[28] | Safe D | September 9, 2020 |
Polling
Aggregate polls
| Source of poll aggregation |
Dates administered |
Dates updated |
Joe Biden Democratic |
Donald Trump Republican |
Other/ Undecided [a] |
Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 270 to Win[29] | October 5 – November 1, 2020 | November 3, 2020 | 57.5% | 35.5% | 7.0% | Biden +22.0 |
| FiveThirtyEight[30] | 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[31] | Oct 20 – Nov 2, 2020 | 656 (LV) | ± 6% | 38%[c] | 60% | - | - | – |
| SurveyMonkey/Axios[31] | Oct 1–28, 2020 | 1,323 (LV) | – | 37% | 62% | - | - | – |
| SurveyMonkey/Axios[31] | Sep 1–30, 2020 | 395 (LV) | – | 37% | 61% | - | - | 2% |
| University of Delaware[32] | Sep 21–27, 2020 | 847 (LV) | – | 33% | 54% | 2% | 1% | 10%[d] |
| SurveyMonkey/Axios[31] | Aug 1–31, 2020 | 348 (LV) | – | 32% | 67% | - | - | 1% |
| PPP[33] | Aug 21–22, 2020 | 710 (V) | ± 3.7% | 37% | 58% | - | - | 5% |
| SurveyMonkey/Axios[31] | Jul 1–31, 2020 | 453 (LV) | – | 31% | 67% | - | - | 2% |
| SurveyMonkey/Axios[31] | Jun 8–30, 2020 | 232 (LV) | – | 34% | 64% | - | - | 2% |
| Gonzales Research[34] | Jan 16–21, 2020 | 410 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 40% | 56% | - | - | 4% |
Former candidates | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Donald Trump vs. Michael Bloomberg
Donald Trump vs. Pete Buttigieg
Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders
Donald Trump vs. Elizabeth Warren
|
Results
| 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[37] | 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 | |||||
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
- Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
- Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear - Overlapping sample with the previous SurveyMonkey/Axios poll, but more information available regarding sample size
- "None/other/undecided" with 10%