2020 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia

2020 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia
Turnout	66.9%
Biden 70–80% 80–90% 90–100%
President before election; Donald Trump; Republican	Elected President ; Joe Biden; Democratic

The District of Columbia participated in the 2020 United States presidential election with the other 50 states on Tuesday, November 3.^[2] District of Columbia voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris. The District of Columbia has three electoral votes in the Electoral College.^[3] Prior to the election, Biden was considered to be all but certain to win D.C.

The nation's capital is overwhelmingly Democratic and has voted for the Democratic nominee by massive margins in every presidential election it has participated in, ever since it was first granted electors by the passage of the Twenty-third Amendment in 1961. Biden's 86.75-point margin of victory was virtually identical to that secured by Hillary Clinton in 2016.^[4] Nevertheless, the District shifted by 0.02% to the right compared with the previous election, likely due to a decline in third-party voting, making Biden the first non-incumbent Democrat since 1988 to win D.C. by a smaller margin than in the previous cycle. Along with six states,^[a] it was one of seven jurisdictions where Trump improved on his 2016 margins.

Primary elections

The District of Columbia held primary elections on June 2, 2020.

Republican primary

Donald Trump ran unopposed in the Republican primary, and thus received all of the district's 19 delegates to the 2020 Republican National Convention.^[5]

Democratic primary

Popular vote share by ward

Biden—60–70%

Biden—70–80%

Biden—80–90%

Popular vote share by precinct

Biden—50–60%

Biden—60–70%

Biden—70–80%

Biden—80–90%

Biden—>90%

2020 District of Columbia Democratic presidential primary^[6]
Candidate	Votes	%	Delegates^[7]^[8]
Joe Biden	84,093	75.97	19
Elizabeth Warren (withdrawn)	14,228	12.85	1
Bernie Sanders (withdrawn)	11,116	10.04
Tulsi Gabbard (withdrawn)	442	0.40
Write-in votes	809	0.73
Total	110,688	100%	20

General election

Final predictions

Source	Ranking
The Cook Political Report^[9]	Solid D
Inside Elections^[10]	Solid D
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[11]	Safe D
Politico^[12]	Solid D
RCP^[13]	Solid D
Niskanen^[14]	Safe D
CNN^[15]	Solid D
The Economist^[16]	Safe D
CBS News^[17]	Likely D
270towin^[18]	Safe D
ABC News^[19]	Solid D
NPR^[20]	Likely D
NBC News^[21]	Solid D
538^[22]	Solid D

Polling

Graphical summary

Aggregate polls


Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Joe Biden Democratic	Donald Trump Republican	Other/ Undecided ^[b]	Margin
FiveThirtyEight^[23]	until November 2, 2020	November 3, 2020	90.8%	5.8%	3.4%	Biden +85.0

Polls

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[c]	Margin of error	Donald Trump Republican	Joe Biden Democratic	Jo Jorgensen Libertarian	Howie Hawkins Green	Other	Undecided
SurveyMonkey/Axios^[24]	Oct 20 – Nov 2, 2020	495 (LV)	± 6%	5%^[d]	94%	–	–	–	–
SurveyMonkey/Axios^[24]	Oct 1–28, 2020	969 (LV)	–	9%	89%	–	–	–	–
SurveyMonkey/Axios^[24]	Sep 1–30, 2020	343 (LV)	–	12%	86%	–	–	–	2%
SurveyMonkey/Axios^[24]	Aug 1–31, 2020	252 (LV)	–	16%	83%	–	–	–	2%
SurveyMonkey/Axios^[24]	Jul 1–31, 2020	290 (LV)	–	8%	91%	–	–	–	1%
SurveyMonkey/Axios^[24]	Jun 8–30, 2020	151 (LV)	–	11%	87%	–	–	–	3%

Results

2020 United States presidential election in the District of Columbia^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Biden Kamala Harris	317,323	92.15	+1.29
	Republican	Donald Trump Mike Pence	18,586	5.40	+1.31
	Write-in		3,137	0.91	–1.19
	Libertarian	Jo Jorgensen Spike Cohen	2,036	0.59	–0.99
	Green	Howie Hawkins Angela Walker	1,726	0.50	–0.87
	Independent	Gloria La Riva Sunil Freeman	855	0.25	+0.25
	Independent	Brock Pierce Karla Ballard	693	0.20	+0.20
Total votes			344,356	100.00	+1.60

Results by Ward

2020 United States Presidential Election in the District of Columbia (By Ward)^[25]
Ward	Joe Biden Democratic		Donald Trump Republican		Other Candidates Various Parties		Margin		Total Votes Cast
Ward	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	Total Votes Cast
Ward 1	39,041	93.67%	1,725	4.14%	915	2.19%	37,316	89.53%	41,681
Ward 2	29,078	88.43%	2,918	8.87%	885	2.70%	26,160	79.56%	32,881
Ward 3	39,397	89.07%	3,705	8.38%	1,129	2.55%	35,692	80.69%	44,231
Ward 4	42,489	93.80%	1,913	4.22%	894	1.98%	40,576	89.58%	45,296
Ward 5	43,320	93.96%	1,769	3.84%	1,018	2.20%	41,551	90.12%	46,107
Ward 6	56,719	90.15%	4,337	6.89%	1,862	2.96%	52,382	83.26%	62,918
Ward 7	36,382	94.78%	1,134	2.95%	868	2.27%	35,248	91.83%	38,384
Ward 8	30,897	94.03%	1,085	3.30%	876	2.67%	29,812	90.73%	32,858
Total	317,323	92.15%	18,586	5.40%	8,447	2.45%	298,737	86.755	344,356

Notes

^ Those states were Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.
^ Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
^ Overlapping sample with the previous SurveyMonkey/Axios poll, but more information available regarding sample size

References

^ ^a ^b "General Election 2020 - Certified Results". D.C. Board of Elections.
^ Kelly, Ben (August 13, 2018). "US elections key dates: When are the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential campaign?". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
^ "Distribution of Electoral Votes". National Archives and Records Administration. September 19, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
^ "District of Columbia Election Results". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
^ "District of Columbia Republican Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
^ "DCBOE Election Results". electionresults.dcboe.org. DC Board of Elections. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
^ "Live results: 2020 District of Columbia Democratic presidential primary". The Washington Post. June 17, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
^ "District of Columbia Democratic Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. June 14, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
^ "2020 POTUS Race ratings" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
^ "POTUS Ratings | Inside Elections". insideelections.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
^ "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2020 President". crystalball.centerforpolitics.org. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
^ "2020 Election Forecast". Politico. November 19, 2019.
^ "Battle for White House". RCP. April 19, 2019.
^ 2020 Bitecofer Model Electoral College Predictions Archived April 23, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Niskanen Center, March 24, 2020, retrieved: April 19, 2020.
^ Chalian, David; Burlij, Terence (June 11, 2020). "Road to 270: CNN's debut Electoral College map for 2020". CNN. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
^ "Forecasting the US elections". The Economist. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
^ "2020 Election Battleground Tracker". CBS News. July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
^ "2020 Presidential Election Interactive Map". 270 to Win.
^ "ABC News Race Ratings". CBS News. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
^ "2020 Electoral Map Ratings: Trump Slides, Biden Advantage Expands Over 270 Votes". NPR.org. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
^ "Biden dominates the electoral map, but here's how the race could tighten". NBC News. August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
^ "2020 Election Forecast". FiveThirtyEight. August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
^ Best, Ryan; Bycoffe, Aaron; King, Ritchie; Mehta, Dhrumil; Wiederkehr, Anna (June 28, 2018). "District of Columbia : President: general election Polls". FiveThirtyEight.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Candidate preference". www.tableau.com.
^ "Our Campaigns - DC US President Race - Nov 03, 2020". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved January 25, 2025.

External links

Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "District of Columbia (D.C.)", Voting & Elections Toolkits
"District of Columbia: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
"League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia". (Affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
Washington, D.C. at Ballotpedia
"State Elections Legislation Database", Ncsl.org, Washington, D.C.: National Conference of State Legislatures, State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020

[5] Those states were Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.

[othercalc-24] Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.

[key-26] Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

[28] Overlapping sample with the previous SurveyMonkey/Axios poll, but more information available regarding sample size

[auto1-1] "General Election 2020 - Certified Results". D.C. Board of Elections.

[2] Kelly, Ben (August 13, 2018). "US elections key dates: When are the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential campaign?". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.

[3] "Distribution of Electoral Votes". National Archives and Records Administration. September 19, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2020.

[4] "District of Columbia Election Results". The New York Times. November 3, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 9, 2020.

[GP-GOP-6] "District of Columbia Republican Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. Retrieved June 3, 2020.

[2020_District_of_Columbia_Democratic_presidential_primary_DC-BOE-results-7] "DCBOE Election Results". electionresults.dcboe.org. DC Board of Elections. Retrieved June 3, 2020.

[2020_District_of_Columbia_Democratic_presidential_primary_WashingtonPost-8] "Live results: 2020 District of Columbia Democratic presidential primary". The Washington Post. June 17, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2022.

[2020_District_of_Columbia_Democratic_presidential_primary_GP-9] "District of Columbia Democratic Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. June 14, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.

[10] "2020 POTUS Race ratings" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Retrieved May 21, 2019.

[11] "POTUS Ratings | Inside Elections". insideelections.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.

[12] "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2020 President". crystalball.centerforpolitics.org. Retrieved May 21, 2019.

[13] "2020 Election Forecast". Politico. November 19, 2019.

[14] "Battle for White House". RCP. April 19, 2019.

[niskanen-15] 2020 Bitecofer Model Electoral College Predictions Archived April 23, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Niskanen Center, March 24, 2020, retrieved: April 19, 2020.

[16] Chalian, David; Burlij, Terence (June 11, 2020). "Road to 270: CNN's debut Electoral College map for 2020". CNN. Retrieved June 16, 2020.

[17] "Forecasting the US elections". The Economist. Retrieved July 7, 2020.

[18] "2020 Election Battleground Tracker". CBS News. July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.

[19] "2020 Presidential Election Interactive Map". 270 to Win.

[20] "ABC News Race Ratings". CBS News. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.

[21] "2020 Electoral Map Ratings: Trump Slides, Biden Advantage Expands Over 270 Votes". NPR.org. Retrieved August 3, 2020.

[22] "Biden dominates the electoral map, but here's how the race could tighten". NBC News. August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.

[23] "2020 Election Forecast". FiveThirtyEight. August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.

[25] Best, Ryan; Bycoffe, Aaron; King, Ritchie; Mehta, Dhrumil; Wiederkehr, Anna (June 28, 2018). "District of Columbia : President: general election Polls". FiveThirtyEight.

[DC-auto-27] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Candidate preference". www.tableau.com.

[29] "Our Campaigns - DC US President Race - Nov 03, 2020". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved January 25, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[a]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[b]

[23]

[c]

[24]

[d]

[25]