The 2020 Constitution Party presidential primaries were a series of

primary elections 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 ...

determining the allocation of delegates in the selection of the Constitution Party's presidential nominee in 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 ...

. On May 2, 2020, the Constitution Party nominated

Don Blankenship Donald Leon Blankenship (born March 14, 1950) is an American business executive and political candidate. He was chairman and CEO of the Massey Energy Company—the sixth-largest coal company (by 2008 production) in the United States—from 2000 u ...

for president and

William Mohr The Constitution Party, formerly the U.S. Taxpayers' Party until 1999, is a political party in the United States that promotes a religious conservative view of the principles and intents of the United States Constitution. The party platfor ...

for vice-president. Several state parties split from the national Constitution Party to nominate their own candidates.

Background

Constitution Party nominees for president historically have received around 0.1% of the General Election vote. In 2016 with attorney Darrell Castle as its nominee, the party reached a milestone, receiving over 200,000 votes for president for the first time. During the early months of 2019, there was some consternation among Constitution Party members over a perceived lack of candidates for the nomination.

State affiliate disputes

After the Constitution Party chose Blankenship as its presidential nominee, there was substantial tension among several state affiliates of the Constitution Party over nominating Blankenship, who has been convicted of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety and health standards in relation to the

Upper Big Branch Mine disaster The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010 roughly underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal. Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed ...

. The same day that Blankenship was chosen as the nominee, the Constitution Party of Virginia broke with the national party, instead choosing to back

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 ...

Justin Amash Justin Amash ( ; born April 18, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2021. Originally a Republican, Amash joined the Libertarian Party in April 2020, becoming the party's first (an ...

for the presidency. On May 13, 2020, the Constitution Party of New Mexico also broke with the national CP, giving Blankenship's fellow candidate Samm Tittle their ballot line. Tittle was also endorsed by the Virginia Party after Amash withdrew from the presidential race. The Constitution Party of Idaho was reportedly considering not nominating William Mohr For Vice-President, and instead choosing their own vice-presidential nominee, but they eventually acquiesced and nominated him for vice-president.

Candidates

Nominee

Defeated at convention

The following candidates received at least 5% of the vote at the 2020 Constitution Party national convention.

Debates

Timeline

2019

*August 30: Don J. Grundmann announced his campaign and filed his candidacy with the FEC. *September 11:

announced his campaign. *October 29: Charles Kraut announced his campaign and filed his candidacy with the FEC. *October 31:

filed his candidacy with the FEC.

2020

*February 25: The first Constitution Party debate took place online, held by Constitution Party of Texas. *February 29: The second Constitution Party debate took place in

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...

. *March 3: The North Carolina primary took place. Uncommitted delegates win a majority. *March 4: Two Constitution Party candidates took part in the Free & Equal elections debate that took place in Chicago. *March 10: Blankenship won Idaho and Missouri. *April 1: The third Constitution Party debate took place online. *May 13: Tittle won New Mexico.

Primary and caucus calendar

Ballot access

Filing for the primaries began in August 2019. Green check

indicates that the candidate was on the ballot for the upcoming primary contest and Dark Red x

indicates that the candidate did not appear on the ballot in that state's contest.

Results

North Carolina

Idaho

Missouri

New Mexico

Notes

References

{{2020 United States presidential election Constitution Party, Constitution Constitution Party (United States) presidential primaries