Democratic Party battleground primaries, 2020
| 2020 Democratic Party primary elections |
|---|
 |
| Battleground primaries |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds State executive battlegrounds |
| Federal primaries |
| U.S. Senate primaries U.S. House primaries |
| State primaries |
| Gubernatorial primaries Attorney General primaries Secretary of State primaries State legislative primaries |
| Primary overviews |
| Democratic Party primaries, 2020 Republican Party primaries, 2020 Top-two battleground primaries, 2020 |
| Primaries by state |
Last updated: September 11, 2020
General elections are often the focal point of election-year media coverage as they determine control of elected offices up and down the ballot. Primary elections, however, can provide insight on future elections as they help dictate the direction each party takes.
Although many of the most competitive primaries take place for open seats or offices that are held by a different party, even high-ranking federal officeholders can lose renomination to primary challengers. In the 2018 primary for New York's 14th Congressional District, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joseph Crowley (D), the fourth-ranking House Democrat, was defeated by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D).
On this page, you will find information on noteworthy and notable Democratic Party primaries taking place across the country for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, state executive offices, state legislatures, and municipal offices. The page also includes information about notable top-two primaries for Democratic seats.
Ballotpedia identified 64 Democratic battleground primaries in 2020.
Click here for information on Republican Party battleground primaries in 2020.
Criteria
It is typically difficult to predict how competitive primaries will be until after filing deadlines take place. However, Ballotpedia used a number of factors to give insight into the most interesting 2020 primary elections. Factors that were used to determine the competitiveness of primaries included:
- Whether or not the seat was open (retiring or resigning incumbent)
- Notable endorsements of multiple candidates
- Significant fundraising from multiple candidates
- Number of candidates
- Incumbent's years in office (if seeking re-election)
- Whether or not the district's general election was expected to be a battleground
U.S. Senate primaries
The following map shows each state with a Democratic battleground primary for U.S. Senate in 2020. Use the buttons in the upper-right hand corner of the map or your mouse's scroll wheel to zoom in and out. Hover over or tap a state to view the incumbent's name. There were nine U.S. Senate Democratic battleground primaries in 2020.
| U.S. Senate Democratic battleground primaries, 2020 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Primary date | Primary winner | Incumbent | Open seat? | MOV in 2014[1] | |
| Arizona | August 4, 2020 | Mark Kelly | Martha McSally |
 |
R+13.0 | |
| Colorado | June 30, 2020 | John Hickenlooper | Cory Gardner |
|
R+1.9 | |
| Georgia | June 9, 2020 | Jon Ossoff | David Perdue |
|
R+7.7 | |
| Iowa | June 2, 2020 | Theresa Greenfield | Joni Ernst |
|
R+8.3 | |
| Kentucky | June 23, 2020 | Amy McGrath | Mitch McConnell |
|
R+15.5 | |
| Maine | July 14, 2020 | Sara Gideon | Susan Collins |
|
R+36.2 | |
| Massachusetts | September 1, 2020 | Ed Markey |  Ed Markey |
|
D+22.8 | |
| North Carolina | March 3, 2020 | Cal Cunningham | Thom Tillis |
|
R+1.5 | |
| Texas | March 3, 2020 July 14, 2020 runoff |
 M.J. Hegar and Royce WestM.J. Hegar |
John Cornyn |
|
R+27.2 | |
U.S. House primaries
The following map shows each U.S. House district with a Democratic battleground primary in 2020. Use the buttons in the upper-right hand corner of the map or your mouse's scroll wheel to zoom in and out. Hover over or tap a district to view the incumbent's name. There were 37 U.S. House Democratic battleground primaries in 2020.
State executive primaries
The following map shows each state with Democratic state executive battleground primaries in 2020. Hover over or tap a state for information on which primaries are battlegrounds and who the incumbent is in each. There were nine Democratic state executive battleground primaries in 2020.
| Democratic state executive battleground primaries, 2020 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Primary date | Primary winner | Incumbent | Open seat? | MOV in 2016[2] | |
| Governor of Montana | June 2, 2020 | Mike Cooney | Steve Bullock |
 |
D+3.9 | |
| Governor of New Hampshire | September 8, 2020 | Dan Feltes | Chris Sununu |
|
R+7.0 | |
| New Hampshire Executive Council District 2 | September 8, 2020 | Cinde Warmington | Andru Volinsky |
|
D+15.8 | |
| Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina | March 3, 2020 | Yvonne Lewis Holley | Dan Forest |
|
R+6.6 | |
| Secretary of State of Oregon | May 19, 2020 | Shemia Fagan | Bev Clarno |
|
R+4.1 | |
| Governor of Vermont | August 11, 2020 | David Zuckerman | Phillip Scott |
|
R+14.9 | |
| Lieutenant Governor of Vermont | August 11, 2020 | Molly Gray | David Zuckerman |
|
D+18.4 | |
| Vermont State Auditor | August 11, 2020 | Doug Hoffer | Doug Hoffer |
|
D+27.9 | |
| Governor of West Virginia | June 9, 2020 | Ben Salango | Jim Justice |
|
D+6.8 | |
State legislative primaries
The following map shows each state with a Democratic state legislative primary battleground chamber in 2020. Hover over or tap a state for more information on which chambers are battlegrounds and how many seats Democrats control in each. There were six Democratic primary battleground chambers in 2020.
| Democratic state legislative primary battleground chambers, 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamber | Primary date | Seats controlled by Democrats | Seats controlled by Democrats up for election in 2020 | Number of contested Democratic primaries | |
| Illinois State Senate | |||||
| New Mexico State Senate | |||||
| New Mexico House of Representatives | |||||
| New York State Senate | |||||
| New York State Assembly | |||||
| Texas House of Representatives | |||||
Municipal primaries
The following map shows each municipality within Ballotpedia's coverage scope with a Democratic battleground primary in 2020. Hover over a dot for more information on which office is a battleground and who the incumbent is. There were three municipal Democratic battleground primaries in 2020.
| Democratic municipal battleground primaries, 2020 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Primary date | Primary winner | Incumbent | Open seat? | MOV in 2016 | |
| Cook County, Illinois State's Attorney | March 17 | Kim Foxx | Kim Foxx |
|
D+44.1 | |
| St. Louis, Missouri Circuit Attorney | August 4 | Kimberly Gardner | Kimberly Gardner |
|
D+96.6 | |
| Travis County, Texas District Attorney | March 3 July 14 runoff |
Margaret Moore and José Garza José Garza |
Margaret Moore |
|
D+32.1 | |
Top-two primaries for Democratic seats
- See also: Top-two battleground primaries, 2020
There were nine top-two battleground primaries for Democratic-held seats in 2020.
California and Washington utilize a top-two primary system, which allows all candidates to run and all voters to vote but only moves the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, to the general election. In states that do not use a top-two system, all parties are usually able to put forward a candidate for the general election if they choose to.[3][4][5][6]
Unlike the top-two format used in some states (Louisiana and Georgia special elections for example), a general election between the top two candidates in California and Washington occurs regardless of whether the top candidate received 50 percent of the vote in the first round of elections.
As of 2020, California and Washington were among the three states to use a top-two primary system. Nebraska utilized a top-two system for its nonpartisan state legislature.
| Top-two battleground primaries for Democratic-held seats, 2020 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Primary winners | Incumbent | Open seat? | MOV in 2018[7] | ||
| Governor of Washington | Jay Inslee Loren Culp |
Jay Inslee |
|
D+8.8 | ||
| Lieutenant Governor of Washington | Denny Heck Marko Liias |
Cyrus Habib |
|
D+8.8 | ||
| Attorney General of Washington | Bob Ferguson Matt Larkin |
Bob Ferguson |
|
D+34.3 | ||
| California's 10th | Josh Harder Ted Howze |
Josh Harder |
|
D+4.5 | ||
| California's 16th | Jim Costa Kevin Cookingham |
Jim Costa |
|
D+15.0 | ||
| California's 25th | Mike Garcia Christy Smith |
Vacant (Previous: Katie Hill) |
|
D+8.7 | ||
| California's 45th | Katie Porter Greg Raths |
Katie Porter |
|
D+4.1 | ||
| California's 53rd | Georgette Gomez Sara Jacobs |
Susan Davis |
|
D+38.2 | ||
| Washington's 10th | Marilyn Strickland Beth Doglio |
Denny Heck |
|
D+23.0 | ||
Change log
This section lists every change that was made to our battleground list since we launched the page in September 2019.
- August 7, 2020: Removed one battleground race from the list: MN-01.
- July 16, 2020: Added one battleground race to the list: St. Louis Circuit Attorney.
- July 10, 2020: Added two battleground races to the list: FL-18 and TN-05.
- July 6, 2020: Added five battleground races to the list: MN-05, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont, Vermont State Auditor, Governor of New Hampshire, and New Hampshire Executive Council District 2.
- June 5, 2020: Removed one battleground race from the list: WV Senate.
- May 29, 2020: Removed one battleground race from the list: MD-06.
- May 18, 2020: Removed four battleground races from the list: IN-05, MD-05, Montana Attorney General, and Mayor of Baltimore.
- April 26, 2020: Added one battleground race to the list: AZ-06.
- April 8, 2020: Added one battleground race to the list: MI-13. Removed one battleground race: TX-13 runoff.
- March 31, 2020: Added two battleground races to the list: New Mexico state Senate and state House. Removed one battleground race: New Mexico U.S. Senate.
- March 15, 2020: Added three battleground races to the list: TX-13, TX-31, and Montana Attorney General.
- March 1, 2020: Added three battleground races to the list: CO-03, NY-24, and WV Gov. Removed one battleground race from the list: MI-03.
- February 25, 2020: Removed one battleground chamber from the list: Texas State Senate.
- February 14, 2020: Removed one battleground race from the list: TX-23.
- February 7, 2020: Added one battleground race to the list: Travis County, Texas, District Attorney.
- January 31, 2020: Added three battleground races to the list: WV Senate, MD-06, and Mayor of Baltimore.
- January 24, 2020: Added nine battleground races to the list: IL-07, TX-21, NC Lieutenant Governor, Cook County, Illinois State's Attorney, Illinois State Senate, New York State Senate and Assembly, and Texas State Senate and House of Representatives
- January 13, 2020: Added 12 battleground races to the list: CO Senate, AZ-01, HI-02, IN-05, MA-01, MA-04, MN-01, NJ-02, NY-01, NY-14, NY-16, and TX-10. Removed IL-06.
- January 3, 2020: Added two battleground races to the list: FL-15 and OH-03.
- December 3, 2019: Added three battleground races to the list: IA Senate, PA-1, and OR Secretary of State.
- November 15, 2019: Added one battleground race to the list: IN-1.
- October 25, 2019: Added one battleground race to the list: NY-17.
- September 18, 2019: Added five battleground races to the list: NC Senate, GA-7, IL-6, TX-23, and VT Gov.
- September 12, 2019: Launched initial battlegrounds list with 22 races.[8]
2018 battlegrounds
Ballotpedia identified 79 Democratic federal and state battleground primaries in 2018. There were two senate battleground primaries, 54 house battleground primaries, and 23 state executive battleground primaries.
Disputes between candidates endorsed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and candidates outside the official organs of the Democratic Party occurred in U.S. House primaries in 2018.
The DCCC supported House candidates they believed would be competitive in general elections. The group said its "Red to Blue" program, which gave candidates organizational and fundraising support, backed candidates who "will take the fight to Paul Ryan’s House Republicans -- and fight to flip these seats from red to blue."[9]
Other candidates, activists, and influencers criticized the DCCC's choices and claimed that the group did not always support candidates who were sufficiently progressive. In January 2018, Ryan Grim and Lee Fang with The Intercept wrote "In district after district, the national party is throwing its weight behind candidates who are out of step with the national mood."[10]
An example of the conflict between Democratic officials and progressives occurred in Colorado's 6th District when Levi Tillemann, who was endorsed by the Progressive Democrats of America, released a tape-recorded conversation with House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. Tilleman told Hoyer the DCCC should stay out of the race. Hoyer urged Tillemann to drop out, saying the Democratic Party's decision to back his opponent, Jason Crow, had been made a long time ago.[11]
| U.S. House Democratic factions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faction | Primary victories in 2018 | |||||||||||
| Endorsed by DCCC | 31 | |||||||||||
| Not endorsed by DCCC | 2 | |||||||||||
Another headline Democratic primary occurred in New York. Long-time incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley, who had not seen a primary challenge since 2004, was defeated by self-described democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic primary for New York's 14th District.[12] Crowley became the first Democratic incumbent member of Congress to lose in the primary in 2018. He had been a congressman since 1999 and was chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, the 4th highest-ranking member in the Democratic Party leadership. Crowley was also identified by Roll Call as one of six Democrats most likely to succeed Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should she step down as House Minority Leader.[13] At the end of March 2018, Crowley had a 22-to-1 fundraising lead over Ocasio-Cortez, who had pledged not to accept contributions from lobbyists.[14][15]
Ocasio-Cortez garnered endorsements from progressive groups including Justice Democrats, Brand New Congress, and NYC Democratic Socialists of America.[16] Crowley's list of endorsements included more than 20 labor unions, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and more than a dozen state legislators.[17] Both candidates expressed support for $15 minimum wage and Medicare for All policies; Ocasio-Cortez credited her campaign with pushing Crowley to the left on these issues, while Crowley's campaign argued that "he's always been a progressive advocate."[18][19]
Top 10 Democratic primaries in 2018
The list below was selected by Ballotpedia staff at the end of the 2018 primary season. Click the links to learn more about each primary.
- Florida governor (August 28)
- New York's 14th Congressional District (June 26)
- Illinois' 3rd Congressional District (March 20)
- Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District (September 4)
- Kansas' 3rd Congressional District (August 7)
- Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District (May 15)
- New York state legislative Democratic primaries, 2018 (September 13)
- Colorado governor (June 26)
- Minnesota governor (August 14)
- Virginia's 10th Congressional District (June 12)
See also
- ↑ 2016 for Arizona.
- ↑ 2018 for New Hampshire and Vermont elections.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ FairVote, "Primaries," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ Alex Padilla California Secretary of State, "Primary Elections in California," accessed October 25, 2019
- ↑ 2016 for the Washington gubernatorial, lieutenant gubernatorial, and attorney general elections.
- ↑ The original 22 races identified were: AZ Senate, GA Senate, KY Senate, ME Senate, MA Senate, NM Senate, TX Senate, CO-1, IL-3, MD-5, MI-3, MO-1, MT-AL, NE-2, NM-3, NY-9, NY-10, NY-15, TX-22, TX-24, TX-28, and MT Gov.
- ↑ DCCC, "Red to Blue Candidates," accessed May 15, 2018
- ↑ The Intercept, "THE DEAD ENDERS: Candidates Who Signed Up to Battle Donald Trump Must Get Past the Democratic Party First," January 23, 2018
- ↑ The Intercept, "Secretly Taped Audio Reveals Democratic Leadership Pressuring Progressive to Leave Race," April 26, 2018
- ↑ Alexandria for NY-14, "Home," accessed June 27, 2018
- ↑ Roll Call, "Six Who Could Succeed Pelosi — Someday," June 28, 2017
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "New York - House District 14," accessed May 30, 2018
- ↑ Alexandria for NY-14, "Issues," accessed May 30, 2018
- ↑ Alexandria for NY-14, "Endorsements," accessed May 30, 2018
- ↑ Crowley for Congress, "Endorsements," accessed May 29, 2018
- ↑ Queens Chronicle, "Ocasio-Cortez on the ballot in NY-14," updated May 17, 2018
- ↑ The Intercept, "A Primary Against the Machine: A Bronx Activist Looks to Dethrone Joseph Crowley, The King of Queens," May 22, 2018
