The 2020 South Dakota Democratic presidential primary took place on June 2, 2020, as one of eight delayed and regular primaries on the same day in 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 ...

. The South Dakota primary was a

semi-closed primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

, with the state awarding 21 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 ...

, of whom 16 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the primary results. Former vice president and presumptive nominee Joe Biden won the primary with 77.5% of the vote and 13 delegates and crossed the necessary majority of 1,991 delegates to officially win the Democratic nomination three days later during the vote count. 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 ...

, who had suspended his campaign two months earlier, earned the remaining 22.5% and 3 delegates. South Dakota was one of only two states where Biden and Sanders had been the only remaining candidates on the ballot.

Procedure

South Dakota was one of seven states and the District of Columbia voting on June 2, 2020 in the Democratic primaries, along with Indiana, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Four of those states had moved their elections to June due to 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 ...

. Voting took place throughout the state from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. In the semi-closed primary, candidates had to meet a threshold of 15% statewide (coterminous with the state's sole congressional district) to be considered viable. The 16 pledged delegates to the

were allocated proportionally on the basis of the primary results. Of these, 10 were district-level delegates and another 2 were allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 4 at-large delegates. Originally planned with 13 delegates, the final number included a 20% bonus of 3 additional delegates on the original number of 8 district and 3 at-large 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 ...

due to the June date, which belonged to Stage III on the primary timetable. Regional and legislative district caucuses met on March 14 to elect delegates to the congressional district caucus. On March 21, the congressional district caucus convened in

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

to designate national convention district-level delegates. The state convention then met virtually on June 20 and voted on the 4 at-large and pledged 2 PLEO delegates for the Democratic National Convention. The delegation also included 5 unpledged PLEO delegates: 4 members of the

and former Senate Majority Leader

Tom Daschle Thomas Andrew Daschle ( ; born December 9, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he became U.S. Senate Minority Leader in 1995 an ...

Candidates

The only two candidates on the ballot in South Dakota were: * Joe Biden *

(withdrawn)

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 ...

and Elizabeth Warren had also qualified for the primary but officially withdrew their candidacies at the Secretary of State.

Results

References

External links

The Green Papers delegate allocation summarySouth Dakota Democratic Party draft delegate selection plan
{{2020 Democratic primaries South Dakota Democratic Democratic primary

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- ...