The 2020 Ohio Democratic presidential primary took place through April 28, 2020, as part of the
Democratic Party primaries for 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 ...
. In-person voting, originally scheduled for March 17, 2020 (along with three different states), had been cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
primary was a
semi-open primary and awarded 154
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 136 were pledged delegates allocated based on the results of the primary.
The legislature and governor ultimately made the decision to run an all-mail primary, with no in-person voting, allowing votes to be received through April 28.
Former vice president
Joe Biden, the only Democrat still in the race, won the primary with more than 72% of the vote and 115 delegates. Senator
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 ...
catched 21 delegates, surpassing the threshold with around 17%.
Procedure
The primary, scheduled for March 17, 2020 on the same day as
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
(whose primaries were not moved), had initially been postponed to June 2 one day before voting day, but was subsequently set to continue by extending mail-in voting until April 28 through a law signed by governor
Mike DeWine
Richard Michael DeWine (; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the O ...
on March 27. Mails had to be received by post until April 27, with the additional option to hand-deliver mail-in ballots on April 28. It was the only contest on that day, as all six states originally planned for that day postponed their primaries.
In the semi-open primary, candidates had to meet a threshold of 15 percent at the congressional district or statewide level in order to be considered viable. The 136 pledged delegates to 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 ...
were allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the primary. Of these, between three and nine were allocated to each of the
state's 16 congressional districts and another 18 were allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 29 at-large delegates.
As Ohio's primary had originally been planned for a March date on Stage I of the primary timetable, it received no bonus delegates by 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 ...
.
District delegates to the national convention were planned to be elected at post-primary caucuses on April 16, 2020; should candidates have received more delegates based on the results of the primary than delegate candidates presented at the time, then additional delegates would have been nominated during these caucuses. The state executive committee of the party subsequently would have met on May 9, 2020, to vote on the 29 at-large and 18 pledged PLEO delegates for the Democratic National Convention. The delegation also included 18 unpledged PLEO delegates: 12 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 ...
, 5 members of Congress (one senator and four representatives, notably temporary presidential contender
Tim Ryan), and former DNC chair
David Wilhelm.
Postponement and delay
The primary had originally been scheduled for March 17, 2020. While only the Ohio General Assembly, and not the governor, had the authority to schedule a new election day Republican Governor of Ohio
Mike DeWine
Richard Michael DeWine (; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the O ...
recommended on March 16 moving the primary election to June amid concerns over the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...
. As he did not have the power to unilaterally make this decision, he went to court to support a lawsuit requesting the delay,
[Li Zhou,]
The chaotic delay of the Ohio primary, explained
" ''Vox'', Mar 17, 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020. but a judge rejected the lawsuit. Later in the day, the Health Director ordered the polls closed as a health emergency. Early on March 17, the Ohio Supreme Court denied the challenge to the state and allowed the primary's delay to proceed.
The governor had proposed to the state legislature that June 2 would be the replacement day, but the final joint decision by the legislature and governor was to run an all-mail primary, with voting through April 28.
[Andrew J. Tobias,]
, ''Cleveland Plain Dealer''/cleveland.com, Mar 25, 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.[ Ohio Primary: State legislature OKs mail-in ballots, eliminates in-person voting]
, WHIO, March 25, 2020.
Candidates
The following people appeared on the ballot in Ohio:
Running
*
Joe Biden
Withdrawn
*
Michael Bennet
Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Colorado, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed t ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
Tulsi Gabbard
Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the firs ...
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
Tom Steyer
Thomas Fahr Steyer (born June 27, 1957) is an American climate investor, businessman, hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist, and liberal activist. Steyer is the co-founder and co-chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, founder and f ...
*
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
Andrew Yang (as well as
John Delaney) did not qualify for the ballot due to invalid petitions, with Yang running a registered write-in campaign instead.
Polling
Results
See also
*
2020 Ohio Republican presidential primary
The 2020 Ohio Republican presidential primary took place on April 28, 2020.
Results
References
{{2020 Republican primaries
Republican primary
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U ...
*
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics
The political impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is the influence that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on politics around the world. The pandemic has affected the governing and political systems of multiple countries, reflected in states of emergenc ...
Notes
;Additional candidates
References
External links
The Green Papers delegate allocation summaryOhio Democratic Party delegate selection planFiveThirtyEight Ohio primary poll tracker
{{2020 Democratic primaries
Ohio Democratic
Democratic primary
This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries.
1912
This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Unit ...
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- ...
Ohio Democratic primary, 2020