The 2020 United States presidential election in Illinois was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the

2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...

in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Illinois voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump of Florida, and his running mate, Vice President

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

of Indiana, against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware, and his running mate,

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Kamala Harris of California. Illinois has 20 votes in the Electoral College. Prior to the 2020 election, all news organizations predicted Illinois was a state that Biden would win, or otherwise considered a safe blue state. Biden carried the Prairie State, winning 57.54% of the vote to Trump's 40.55%, winning by roughly the same 17-point margin by which Hillary Clinton carried the state in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

nominee Jo Jorgensen, a native of

Grayslake Grayslake is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Chicago's downtown, 14 miles (23 km) west of Lake Michigan, and 15 miles (24 km) sout ...

, won 1.1% of the state's vote, with other minor candidates winning less than 1%. Biden's win in Illinois was largely the result of a lopsided 74.3% victory in Cook County, the state's most populous county and the home of Chicago. Per

exit poll An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working for n ...

s by the Associated Press, Biden's strength came from a coalition of key Democratic constituencies: he garnered 92% of votes from Blacks; 68% from Latinos, including 67% of Latinos of

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

heritage; 53% from union households; and 50% of Whites. Biden flipped McLean County ( Bloomington- Normal) and Kendall County (in the Chicago metropolitan area), both of which had voted for Barack Obama in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, but then for

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and Trump in

. Biden became the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

to be elected president without winning formerly Democratic leaning Alexander County, solidifying its rural shift towards Republicans in elections; he also became the first to do so without carrying Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Putnam, Warren, or Whiteside Counties since Jimmy Carter in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, as well as the first to do so without carrying Jo Daviess or Carroll Counties since Bill Clinton in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

and

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, respectively. Illinois was one of five states in the nation in which Biden's victory margin was larger than 1 million raw votes, the others being California, Maryland, Massachusetts and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Primary elections

Illinois held its primary elections as scheduled, despite 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 ...

. Election officials in Illinois acknowledged that they believed turnout was unusually low. In the state-run primaries (Democratic and Republican), turnout was 28.36%, with 2,279,439 votes cast. The 28.36% turnout marked an 18.2 percentage point decrease from the turnout in the 2016 state-run presidential primaries, but a similar turnout to the 2000, 2004, and 2012 presidential primaries. The state-run primary elections for the Democratic and Republican parties were held on March 17, 2020. The Green Party had organized its own primary on March 14, 2020.

Democratic primary

The 2020 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on March 17, 2020, as one of the Democratic Party's state primaries ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Major candidates included Joe Biden and 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 ...

of Vermont.

Republican primary

The 2020 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on March 17, 2020, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Incumbent president Donald Trump won the primary with over 96 percent of the vote. Joe Walsh, a former member of the House of Representatives from Illinois, announced the launch of his campaign in August 2019 and dropped out in February 2020. Rocky De La Fuente, a businessman from California, also challenged Trump, achieving 4% of the vote. Richard Mayers, a 2016 Green Party candidate, was a write-in candidate here.

Green

The 2020 Illinois Green Party presidential primary was held from March 14, 2020, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Green Party's state primaries ahead of the 2020 presidential election. It was run by the

Green Party of Illinois The Illinois Green Party is a statewide political party in Illinois. The party is state affiliate of the Green Party of the United States. Its stated mission and purpose are to advance the ''Ten Key Values of the Green Party'' in Illinois through ...

General election

Predictions

Polling

Graphical summary

Aggregate polls

Polls

Results

The election was not close with Biden winning by a nearly 17-point margin. Biden only won 14 of the state's 102 counties; however, those 14 counties account for more than half the state's total electorate. Key to Biden's landslide victory was heavily populated Cook County, home of Chicago, which he won with over 74% of the vote. Biden also did well in the suburban (collar) counties of Chicago, winning all of them easily except for McHenry County. Biden also did well in St. Clair County, located in the

St Louis metropolitan area Greater St. Louis is a bi-state metropolitan area that completely surrounds and includes the independent city of St. Louis, the principal city. It includes parts of both Missouri and Illinois. The city core is on the Mississippi Riverfront ...

. Biden also managed to flip two counties, Kendall County and McLean County. Biden also made history by earning the most votes ever cast in an Illinois presidential election. Biden received 3,471,915 votes. This is more than then-Senator Obama in

when he received 3,419,348, but less than Senator Dick Durbin's 3,615,844 votes in the 2008 Senate race. On December 14, Illinois's 20 electors met in the Illinois State Capitol to cast their votes for Biden and Harris formally.

By county

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

McLean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John). The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathain" ...

(largest municipality: Bloomington) * Kendall (largest municipality: Oswego)

By congressional district

Biden won 12 of the 18 congressional districts, Trump won 6 including one that elected a Democrat.

Notes

References

External links

* * * (State affiliate of the U.S.

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

) * {{State results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election Illinois

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- ...

Presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...