Although

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

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 State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, it still participated in the U.S. presidential primaries and caucuses. Former mayor Michael Bloomberg 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 Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

Democratic caucus

The 2020 American Samoa Democratic presidential caucus took place on March 3, 2020, alongside 14 state primaries on

Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating co ...

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 presidential primaries in the process of the Democratic and Republican Parties choosing their respective general election nominee ...

the weekend before. The American Samoa caucus was an open caucus, with the territory awarding 11 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 6 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the caucus. Former mayor Michael Bloomberg won the caucus and netted four delegates (his only primary win), with representative

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 fi ...

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 2020 Democratic National Convention 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 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 * Michael Bloomberg *

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 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 ...

Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Deval Patrick,

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 ...

and

Andrew Yang Andrew Yang (born January 13, 1975) is an American businessman, attorney, lobbyist, and politician. Yang was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary. He is the co-c ...

had withdrawn shortly before the caucus but remained on the ballot.

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

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 ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', 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 English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

translation: "Mike Bloomberg for American Samoa 2020") and invested heavily in digital advertising on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

. 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 were unbound, unless instructed otherwise by a resolution passed by the convention. The territory's party officially endorsed incumbent President

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

Presidential primaries The presidential primary elections and caucuses held in the various states, the District of Columbia, and territories of the United States form part of the nominating process of candidates for United States presidential elections. The United S ...

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