2020 Maine Democratic presidential primary
The 2020 Maine Democratic presidential primary took place in Maine, United States, on March 3, 2020, as one of 14 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Maine primary was a closed primary, meaning that only registered Democrats could vote in this primary. The state awarded 32 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, 24 of which are pledged delegates allocated based on the results of the primary. Although the primary was only open to party members, unenrolled voters were permitted to enroll in a party at the polls with same day registration.
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32 Democratic National Convention delegates (24 pledged, 8 unpledged) The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Election results by county
Joe Biden
Bernie Sanders |
Elections in Maine | ||||||
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The primary election coincided with a people's veto referendum to reject changes to Maine's vaccination laws.
In a result described as a "stunning upset", the Bangor Daily News called the primary for Joe Biden, with Bernie Sanders at a close second.[1] The Associated Press also called the race in Biden's favor.[2]
Biden's win in Maine heavily contrasted Sanders' in 2016, where he won its caucus with over 60% of the vote against Hillary Clinton.[3][4]
Candidates
The following candidates were on the ballot in Maine:
Running
Withdrawn
Procedure
Maine is one of 14 states holding primaries on March 3, 2020, also known as "Super Tuesday",[5] following the signing of a bill changing the state's nominating contest from a caucus to a primary on the first Tuesday in March by Governor Janet Mills on June 20, 2019. Although a bill expanding the use of ranked choice voting to presidential primary and general elections was passed by the legislature, Governor Mills delayed implementation until after the 2020 primary.[6]
Voting is expected to take place throughout the state from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. in much of the state, with some precincts opening as late as 10:00 a.m. In the closed primary, candidates must meet a threshold of 15 percent at the congressional district or statewide level in order to be considered viable. The 24 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention will be allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the primary. Of the 24 pledged delegates, between 7 and 9 are allocated to each of the state's 2 congressional districts and another 3 are allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 5 at-large pledged delegates. Bonus delegates will be allocated as Maine shares a primary date with numerous other states on Super Tuesday; these numbers do not yet account for these delegates.[7]
The state convention will subsequently be held on Saturday, May 30, 2020 to vote on the 16 pledged district, 5 pledged at-large, and 3 PLEO delegates to send to the Democratic National Convention. The 24 pledged delegates Maine sends to the national convention will be joined by 8 unpledged PLEO delegates (4 members of the Democratic National Committee; 2 members of Congress, of which both are U.S. Representatives; the governor; and former U.S. Senate majority leader George J. Mitchell).[7]
Polling
Polling Aggregation | ||||||||||
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Source of poll aggregation | Date updated | Dates polled | Bernie Sanders |
Joe Biden |
Michael Bloomberg |
Elizabeth Warren |
Tulsi Gabbard |
Undecided[lower-alpha 1] | ||
270 to Win | Mar 3, 2020 | Feb 10–Mar 2, 2020 | 28.7% | 19.7% | 20.0% | 13.3% | 1.3% | 17.0% | ||
RealClear Politics | Mar 3, 2020 | Feb 28–Mar 2, 2020 | 38.5% | 24.5% | 14.0% | 18.0% | –[lower-alpha 2] | 5.0% | ||
FiveThirtyEight | Mar 3, 2020 | until Mar 2, 2020 [lower-alpha 3] | 31.1% | 21.7% | 17.2% | 14.2% | 0.7% | 19.6% | ||
Average | 32.8% | 22.0% | 17.1% | 15.2% | 1.0% | 11.9% | ||||
Maine primary results (March 3, 2020) | 32.4% | 33.4% | 11.8% | 15.6% | 0.9% | 5.9% |
Tabulation of individual polls of the 2020 Maine Democratic Primary | ||||||||||||||||
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Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Joe Biden |
Michael Bloomberg |
Pete Buttigieg |
Kamala Harris |
Bernie Sanders |
Elizabeth Warren |
Andrew Yang |
Other | Undecided | ||||
Klobuchar withdraws from the race | ||||||||||||||||
Swayable | Mar 1–2, 2020 | 209 (LV) | ± 9.0% | 22% | 28% | 10% | – | 27% | 11% | – | 3%[lower-alpha 4] | – | ||||
Change Research | Mar 1–2, 2020 | 507 (LV) | – | 24% | 10% | – | – | 43% | 16% | – | 7%[lower-alpha 5] | – | ||||
Data for Progress | Feb 28–Mar 2, 2020 | 385 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 25% | 18% | 1% | – | 34% | 20% | – | 2%[lower-alpha 6] | – | ||||
Buttigieg withdraws from the race | ||||||||||||||||
SocialSphere/Colby College | Feb 10–13, 2020 | 350 (LV) | – | 12% | 14% | 16% | – | 25% | 9% | 2% | 10%[lower-alpha 7] | 12% | ||||
Yang withdraws from the race | ||||||||||||||||
Harris withdraws from the race | ||||||||||||||||
Maine People's Resource Center | Oct 14–21, 2019 | 728 (LV) | ± 3.63% | 26.8% | – | 9.1% | 5.0% | 15.4% | 22.1% | 1.7% | 11.4%[lower-alpha 8] | 4.4% | ||||
Public Policy Polling | Oct 11–13, 2019 | 366 (LV) | ± 5.1% | 19% | – | 9% | 4% | 12% | 31% | 3% | 20%[lower-alpha 9] | –[lower-alpha 10] | ||||
Gravis Marketing | Jun 24, 2019 | 243 | ± 6.3% | 25% | – | 8% | 2% | 15% | 17% | 5% | 15%[lower-alpha 11] | 11% |
Results
Candidate | Votes | % | Delegates[9] |
---|---|---|---|
Joe Biden | 68,729 | 33.37 | 11 |
Bernie Sanders | 66,826 | 32.45 | 9 |
Elizabeth Warren | 32,055 | 15.57 | 4 |
Michael Bloomberg | 24,294 | 11.80 | |
Pete Buttigieg (withdrawn†) | 4,364 | 2.12 | |
Amy Klobuchar(withdrawn†) | 2,826 | 1.37 | |
Tulsi Gabbard | 1,815 | 0.88 | |
Andrew Yang (withdrawn†) | 696 | 0.34 | |
Tom Steyer (withdrawn†) | 313 | 0.15 | |
Deval Patrick (withdrawn†) | 218 | 0.11 | |
Marianne Williamson (withdrawn) | 201 | 0.10 | |
Cory Booker (withdrawn) | 183 | 0.09 | |
Blank ballots | 3,417 | 1.66 | |
Total | 205,937 | 100% | 24 |
† Candidate withdrew after early voting started.
Results by county
2020 Maine Democratic primary
(results per county)[8] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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County | Joe Biden | Bernie Sanders | Elizabeth Warren | Michael Bloomberg | Pete Buttigieg | Amy Klobuchar | Tulsi Gabbard | Andrew Yang | Tom Steyer | Deval Patrick | Marianne Williamson | Cory Booker | Blank ballots | Total votes cast | |||||||||||||
Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
Androscoggin | 4,076 | 34.20 | 3,639 | 30.54 | 1,431 | 12.01 | 1,762 | 14.79 | 246 | 2.06 | 139 | 1.17 | 160 | 1.34 | 47 | 0.39 | 22 | 0.18 | 35 | 0.29 | 20 | 0.17 | 14 | 0.12 | 326 | 2.74 | 11,917 |
Aroostook | 2,558 | 46.15 | 1,256 | 22.66 | 361 | 6.51 | 851 | 15.35 | 88 | 1.59 | 50 | 0.90 | 34 | 0.61 | 28 | 0.51 | 14 | 0.25 | 11 | 0.20 | 11 | 0.20 | 16 | 0.29 | 265 | 4.78 | 5,543 |
Cumberland | 20,555 | 31.18 | 22,187 | 33.66 | 12,701 | 19.27 | 6,766 | 10.26 | 1,521 | 2.31 | 957 | 1.45 | 413 | 0.63 | 149 | 0.23 | 63 | 0.10 | 37 | 0.06 | 32 | 0.05 | 43 | 0.07 | 500 | 0.76 | 65,924 |
Franklin | 1,226 | 33.93 | 1,329 | 36.78 | 414 | 11.46 | 390 | 10.79 | 49 | 1.36 | 40 | 1.11 | 40 | 1.11 | 18 | 0.50 | 11 | 0.30 | 16 | 0.44 | 7 | 0.19 | 5 | 0.14 | 68 | 1.88 | 3,613 |
Hancock | 2,988 | 31.28 | 3,328 | 34.84 | 1,756 | 18.39 | 1,005 | 10.52 | 171 | 1.79 | 125 | 1.31 | 32 | 0.34 | 31 | 0.32 | 19 | 0.20 | 2 | 0.02 | 10 | 0.10 | 8 | 0.08 | 76 | 0.80 | 9,551 |
Kennebec | 5,651 | 35.59 | 4,775 | 30.07 | 2,222 | 13.99 | 2,062 | 12.99 | 314 | 1.98 | 208 | 1.31 | 185 | 1.17 | 65 | 0.41 | 29 | 0.18 | 17 | 0.11 | 20 | 0.13 | 13 | 0.08 | 318 | 2.00 | 15,879 |
Knox | 2,586 | 32.44 | 2,611 | 32.75 | 1,486 | 18.64 | 892 | 11.19 | 106 | 1.33 | 102 | 1.28 | 65 | 0.82 | 22 | 0.28 | 1 | 0.01 | 9 | 0.11 | 4 | 0.05 | 5 | 0.06 | 83 | 1.04 | 7,972 |
Lincoln | 2,138 | 34.21 | 2,020 | 32.33 | 979 | 15.67 | 753 | 12.05 | 117 | 1.87 | 86 | 1.38 | 47 | 0.75 | 17 | 0.27 | 5 | 0.08 | 21 | 0.34 | 2 | 0.03 | 4 | 0.06 | 60 | 0.96 | 6,249 |
Oxford | 2,282 | 35.52 | 2,199 | 34.23 | 739 | 11.50 | 736 | 11.46 | 99 | 1.54 | 66 | 1.03 | 93 | 1.45 | 30 | 0.47 | 8 | 0.12 | 3 | 0.05 | 10 | 0.16 | 6 | 0.09 | 154 | 2.40 | 6,425 |
Penobscot | 5,392 | 33.24 | 5,526 | 34.07 | 2,138 | 13.18 | 2,045 | 12.61 | 265 | 1.63 | 216 | 1.33 | 125 | 0.77 | 89 | 0.55 | 27 | 0.17 | 23 | 0.14 | 22 | 0.14 | 20 | 0.12 | 332 | 2.05 | 16,220 |
Piscataquis | 520 | 36.31 | 425 | 29.68 | 147 | 10.27 | 234 | 16.34 | 22 | 1.54 | 17 | 1.19 | 8 | 0.56 | 7 | 0.49 | 2 | 0.14 | 2 | 0.14 | 4 | 0.28 | 3 | 0.21 | 41 | 2.86 | 1,432 |
Sagadahoc | 2,274 | 32.15 | 2,054 | 29.04 | 1,245 | 17.60 | 830 | 11.74 | 128 | 1.81 | 94 | 1.33 | 69 | 0.98 | 14 | 0.20 | 10 | 0.14 | 3 | 0.04 | 3 | 0.04 | 1 | 0.01 | 347 | 4.91 | 7,072 |
Somerset | 1,553 | 36.46 | 1,225 | 28.76 | 360 | 8.45 | 699 | 16.41 | 86 | 2.02 | 45 | 1.06 | 53 | 1.24 | 38 | 0.89 | 12 | 0.28 | 5 | 0.12 | 12 | 0.28 | 6 | 0.14 | 166 | 3.90 | 4,260 |
Waldo | 1,902 | 29.64 | 2,469 | 38.48 | 1,038 | 16.18 | 664 | 10.35 | 101 | 1.57 | 69 | 1.08 | 44 | 0.69 | 18 | 0.28 | 8 | 0.12 | 4 | 0.06 | 9 | 0.14 | 7 | 0.11 | 83 | 1.29 | 6,416 |
Washington | 1,131 | 36.41 | 892 | 28.72 | 389 | 12.52 | 410 | 13.20 | 61 | 1.96 | 48 | 1.55 | 30 | 0.97 | 10 | 0.32 | 4 | 0.13 | 5 | 0.16 | 4 | 0.13 | 8 | 0.26 | 114 | 3.67 | 3,106 |
York | 11,781 | 35.42 | 10,454 | 31.43 | 4,286 | 12.88 | 4,154 | 12.49 | 904 | 2.72 | 523 | 1.57 | 414 | 1.24 | 109 | 0.33 | 77 | 0.23 | 25 | 0.08 | 31 | 0.09 | 24 | 0.07 | 483 | 1.45 | 33,265 |
UOCAVA | 116 | 10.61 | 437 | 39.98 | 363 | 33.21 | 41 | 3.75 | 86 | 7.87 | 41 | 3.75 | 3 | 0.27 | 4 | 0.37 | 1 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.09 | 1,093 |
Total | 68,729 | 33.37 | 66,826 | 32.45 | 32,055 | 15.57 | 24,294 | 11.80 | 4,364 | 2.12 | 2,826 | 1.37 | 1,815 | 0.88 | 696 | 0.34 | 313 | 0.15 | 218 | 0.11 | 201 | 0.10 | 183 | 0.09 | 3,417 | 1.66 | 205,937 |
Notes
- Additional candidates
- Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined
- Gabbard not averaged
- FiveThirtyEight aggregates polls with a trendline regression of polls rather than a strict average of recent polls.
- Klobuchar with 2%; Steyer with 0%; Gabbard with no voters; "Other" with 1%
- Not yet released
- Klobuchar and Gabbard with 1%
- Klobuchar with 4%; Gabbard with 3%; Steyer with 2%; Bennet with 1%; Patrick and "Someone else" with no voters
- "Other" with 6.5%; Booker with 2.7% and O'Rourke with 2.2%
- Booker with 2%; Castro and O'Rourke with 1%; "someone else/undecided" with 16%
- The poll did not announce this result separately; it is listed as part of 'Other'.
- Ryan with 4%; Booker and Williamson with 3%; Bennet with 2%; Gillibrand, O'Rourke, and Swalwell with 1%; Bullock, Castro, de Blasio, Gabbard, Hickenlooper Inslee, and Klobuchar with 0%
References
- Jessica Piper (4 March 2020). "Joe Biden wins Maine's Democratic presidential primary". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- Patrick Whittle (4 March 2020). "Biden squeezes by Sanders in Maine, extends sweep of wins". Associated Press. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- "Maine Primary Results 2016". The New York Times. 2016-09-29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
- Burns, Katelyn (2020-03-04). "Joe Biden wins Maine primary, defeating Bernie Sanders". Vox. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
- Putnam, Josh. "The 2020 Presidential Primary Calendar". Frontloading HQ. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- Writer, Scott ThistleStaff (2019-09-06). "Gov. Mills allows ranked-choice voting in Maine's presidential elections". Press Herald. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
- "Maine Democratic Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- "March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election – Democratic". Maine.gov. Maine Department of the Secretary of State. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
- "Maine Election Results 2020". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved March 11, 2020.