2020 South Dakota Democratic presidential primary
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21 Democratic National Convention delegates (16 pledged with 10 district-level and 6 statewide; 5 unpledged) The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Election results by county
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| Elections in South Dakota |
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The 2020 South Dakota Democratic presidential primary took place on June 2, 2020, as part of the Democratic Party presidential primaries for the 2020 presidential election. The South Dakota primary was a semi-closed primary, with the state awarding 21 delegates, of whom 16 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the primary results. Joe Biden won the primary with 77.5% of the vote, while Bernie Sanders, who had suspended his campaign two months earlier, received 22.5%.
Procedure
South Dakota was one of eight contests occurring on June 2, 2020 in the Democratic primaries, along with Rhode Island, Montana, New Mexico, Maryland, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia.[1]
Voting took place throughout the state from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. In the semi-closed primary, candidates had to meet a threshold of 15% statewide (coterminous with the state's sole congressional district) to be considered viable. The 16 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention were allocated proportionally on the basis of the primary results. Of these, 10 were district-level delegates and another 2 were allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 4 at-large pledged delegates.[2] Originally planned with 14 delegates, the final number included a 20% bonus of 2 additional delegates on the original number of 12 district and at-large delegates by the Democratic National Committee due to the June date, which belonged to Stage III on the primary timetable.[3][4]
Regional and legislative district caucuses met on March 14 to elect congressional district caucus delegates. On March 21, the congressional district caucus convened in Pierre to designate national convention district-level delegates to be listed on the ballot. The state convention then met virtually on June 20 to vote on the 3 pledged at-large and 2 PLEO delegates to send to the Democratic National Convention. The 16 pledged delegates South Dakota sent to the national convention were joined by 5 unpledged PLEO delegates (4 members of the Democratic National Committee and Tom Daschle, former Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate).[2]
| Pledged national convention delegates | |
|---|---|
| Type | Del. |
| CD at-large | 10 |
| PLEO | 2 |
| At-large | 4 |
| Total pledged delegates | 16 |
Candidates
The only two candidates on the ballot in South Dakota were:[5]
- Joe Biden
- Bernie Sanders (withdrawn)
Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren had also qualified for the primary but officially withdrew their candidacies at the Secretary of State.[6][7]
Results
| Candidate | Votes | % | Delegates[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Biden | 40,800 | 77.48 | 13 |
| Bernie Sanders (withdrawn) | 11,861 | 22.52 | 3 |
| Total | 52,661 | 100% | 16 |
References
- ^ Putnam, Josh. "The 2020 Presidential Primary Calendar". Frontloading HQ. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ a b "South Dakota Democratic Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. June 14, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ "Democratic Timing Penalties and Bonuses". The Green Papers. November 24, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
- ^ "The Math Behind the Democratic Delegate Allocation - 2020". The Green Papers. November 24, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
- ^ "2020 Primary Election". Ballot Access News. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
- ^ "2020 Democratic Party Certification for President - March 2, 2020" (PDF). February 26, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- ^ "2020 Democratic Party Certification for President - March 23, 2020" (PDF). March 19, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- ^ "2020 Primary State Canvass Report and Certificate" (PDF). electionresults.sd.gov. South Dakota Secretary of State. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ "Delegate Tracker". interactives.ap.org. Associated Press. Retrieved June 2, 2020.