Although American Samoa did not participate in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

because it is a

U.S. territory In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). The United States asserts sovereign rights for ...

and not a state, it still participated in the U.S. presidential primaries and caucuses. Former mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

won the Democratic caucus, held on March 3. The Republican caucus, in the form of a territorial convention held on March 18, endorsed incumbent President Donald Trump.

Democratic caucus

The 2020 American Samoa Democratic presidential caucus took place on March 3, 2020, alongside 14 state primaries on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries and caucuses for the

, following the

South Carolina primary The South Carolina presidential primary is an open primary election which has become one of several key early-state United States presidential primary, presidential primaries in the process of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic and Re ...

the weekend before. The American Samoa caucus was an open caucus, with the territory awarding 11 delegates towards the

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...

, of which 6 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the caucus. Former mayor

won the caucus and netted four delegates (his only primary win), with representative Tulsi Gabbard coming in second, and winning her only two delegates.

Procedure

When the American Samoa Democratic Party had published its draft delegate selection plan on July 3, 2019, it specified a Super Tuesday, March 3 date for the 2020 caucus; this date was finally declared via Facebook on February 1, 2020. In the open caucus, candidates had to meet a threshold of 15 percent across the territory to be considered viable. The 6 pledged delegates to the

were allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the caucus, and were all at-large pledged delegates. The Super Tuesday caucus as part of Stage I on the primary timetable received no bonus delegates, in order to disperse the primaries and caucuses between more different date clusters and keep too many states from hoarding on the first shared date or on a March date in general. The delegation also included 5 unpledged PLEO delegates: 4 members of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

and the governor

Lemanu Peleti Mauga Lemanu Palepoi Sialegā Mauga (born January 1, 1949) is an American Samoan politician and the 8th governor of American Samoa since January 3, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Mauga served as a senator in the American Samoa Senate, where he ...

Candidates

The following people were on the ballot in American Samoa. * Joe Biden *

* Tulsi Gabbard *

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

* Elizabeth Warren

Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; ; Sometimes pronounced or , but not by Buttigieg himself. born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former military officer who is currently serving as the United States secretary of transp ...

Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Minne ...

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...

, Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang had withdrawn shortly before the caucus but remained on the ballot. Kamala Harris had withdrawn early so that she was not put on the ballot. However, none of the withdrawn candidates or the existing uncommitted option received any votes.

Campaign

According to '' The Wall Street Journal'', Bloomberg's campaign made a relatively significant investment in the caucus: Bloomberg's campaign opened a campaign headquarters in the territory and hired seven staffers in America Samoa. His campaign put up campaign signs that read ''Mike Bloomberg mo Amerika Samoa 2020'' ( English translation: "Mike Bloomberg for American Samoa 2020") and invested heavily in

digital advertising Online advertising, also known as online marketing, Internet advertising, digital advertising or web advertising, is a form of marketing and advertising which uses the Internet to promote products and services to audiences and platform users. ...

on Facebook. Samoan chief Fa’alagiga Nina Tua’au-Glaude, a 2008 Barack Obama delegate, endorsed Bloomberg a day before the contest, citing his policies on climate change in particular as a reason for his endorsement. Bloomberg's victory over Gabbard, who was born in the territory, was regarded as an upset victory, and was credited to Gabbard's late start in campaigning on the island.

Results

Republican caucus

The 2020 American Samoa Republican presidential caucus took place as a territorial convention on March 18, 2020, in the

Republican Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries have been held in the United States since 1912 to nominate the Republican presidential candidate. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. President William Taft ran to become the nomine ...

for the

. The 9 delegates to the

2020 Republican National Convention The 2020 Republican National Convention in which delegates of the United States Republican Party selected the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2020 United States presidential election, was held from August 24 to 27, 202 ...

were unbound, unless instructed otherwise by a resolution passed by the convention. The territory's party officially endorsed incumbent President Donald Trump at its convention, and thus all 9 delegates were expected to vote for him at the national convention.

References

External links

The Green Papers Democratic Party delegate allocation summaryThe Green Papers Republican Party delegate allocation summary
{{2020 Republican primaries American Samoa American Samoa American Samoa Presidential primaries

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

United States presidential elections in American Samoa