Announcement On March 17, 2019, at a dinner in
Dover, Delaware, Biden accidentally revealed that he would run for president in 2020. On April 19, 2019,
The Atlantic reported that Biden planned to officially announce his campaign five days later via a video announcement, followed by a launch rally in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or
Charlottesville, Virginia. Subsequent reports indicated that Biden's plans remained uncertain, with no known launch date, locations for campaign rallies, or permits for an event in Philadelphia. On April 23, it was reported that Biden would formally enter the race two days later. On April 25, 2019, Biden released a video announcing his candidacy for president of the United States. Following a three-week tour, Biden held a campaign rally in Philadelphia on May 18, 2019. On May 22, the magazine
Ebony reported that Biden had begun assembling his 2020 presidential campaign team, to be headquartered in Philadelphia. His team included campaign manager
Greg Schultz and director of strategic communications Kamau Mandela Marshall, who both previously worked in the
Obama administration, as well as other senior advisors from the Obama administration. Additionally, on May 31, the Biden campaign announced that Congressman
Cedric Richmond would join the campaign as the national co-chairman. •
Jared Bernstein, former chief economics advisor to
Joe Biden •
Ben Harris, former chief economist and chief economic advisor to Vice President Joe Biden
Fundraising and strategy On April 26, 2019, Biden's campaign announced that they had raised $6.3 million in the first 24 hours, surpassing all other candidates' first 24-hour fundraising totals for the Democratic presidential nomination at that time. Biden's fundraising came from 128,000 unique contributors, equivalent to that of
Beto O'Rourke's campaign, but about 40% lower than that of
Bernie Sanders, who had 223,000 unique contributors in the first 24 hours of his campaign. According to a
Politico article, the Biden campaign was operating on the premise that the Democratic base is not nearly as liberal or youthful as perceived. Privately, several Biden advisers acknowledged that their theory was based on polling data and voting trends, contending that the media is pushing the idea of a hyper-progressive Democratic electorate being propagated by a
Twitter bubble and being out of touch with the average rank-and-file Democrat. In April 2019, Biden told reporters, "The fact of the matter is the vast majority of the members of the Democratic Party are still basically liberal to moderate Democrats in the traditional sense." Biden also described himself as an "Obama-Biden Democrat". An unspecified Biden adviser said, "There's a big disconnect between the media narrative and what the primary electorate looks like and thinks, versus the media narrative and the Twitter narrative [and] the Democratic primary universe is far less liberal. It's older than you think it is." From April 25 to May 25, 2019, Biden's campaign spent 83% of his total $1.2 million
Facebook ad funding on targeting voters 45 years and older. No other top 2020 Democratic candidate has pursued a similar strategy in the primary. Biden, along with Bernie Sanders, was often perceived as the candidate with the best chance of defeating
Donald Trump in the general election. According to
The Washington Post, this may be because of his more moderate policies, or it may be because voters or party leaders believe a white male candidate is more "electable". Joe Biden said that his late son
Beau should be running instead of him if he were alive. Biden led most national polls through 2019. The Biden campaign came to rely on volunteer groups such as the Biden Digital Coalition for their social media presence and for tracking disinformation. The campaign raised $70 million during the
2020 Democratic National Convention. The campaign and
DNC combined raised a record $365 million in August 2020, compared to $154 million by Trump and the
RNC. Biden raised another $383 million in September 2020, breaking his own record from the previous month.
Early primary election results During the
Iowa caucuses held on February 3, 2020, Biden came in fourth place, earning six pledged delegates. In the
New Hampshire primary held on February 11, Biden came in fifth place and did not earn any delegates due to his failure to meet the required 15% eligibility threshold. After poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, some media outlets questioned whether Biden's status as the most electable candidate was accurate. Biden subsequently finished a distant second in the
Nevada caucuses held on February 22, but his campaign viewed his large support among black voters in the state as a sign of strength heading into the South Carolina primary. Biden won the
South Carolina primary election held on February 29. Biden won all 46 counties in the state, winning 48.7% of the popular vote and earning 39 delegates. The win was largely attributed to his support from 61% of African-American voters (African-American voters make up approximately 60% of the Democratic electorate in South Carolina). Before the primary on February 26,
Jim Clyburn endorsed Biden. Many cited Clyburn's endorsement as a reason for Biden's wide margin of victory, as Clyburn's endorsement is a deciding factor for many African American voters in South Carolina. Thirty-six percent of all primary voters said that they made their decision after Clyburn's endorsement; of that total, 70% voted for Biden. According to
FiveThirtyEight, the outcome significantly boosted Biden's chance of winning multiple Super Tuesday states (especially southern states like
North Carolina,
Texas, and
Virginia). In early March, shortly before
Super Tuesday,
Pete Buttigieg and
Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden, widely perceived as attempts to slow down Sanders' momentum in the primaries.
Beto O'Rourke,
Cory Booker and
Kamala Harris, who had all suspended their campaign months before, also endorsed Biden at around the same time. On the Super Tuesday primary elections on March 3, Biden won Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, earning a total of 458 delegates, and pulling ahead of Bernie Sanders in the race. According to an
exit poll, Biden received a substantial amount of support from voters who made up their minds in the last few days before the election. Late voters also preferred a candidate who they believed could defeat Trump more than one who agreed with them on issues. Biden's strong Super Tuesday performance led him to say he had "Joementum." On March 9,
CNN reported that Biden had a double-digit lead over Sanders in a nationwide poll. On March 12, with the coronavirus pandemic looming, Biden changed campaign managers, replacing
Greg Schultz with
Jen O'Malley Dillon.
COVID-19 and presumptive nominee On March 11, 2020, the
World Health Organization officially designated the outbreak of
COVID-19 as a pandemic. As a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic, many of the scheduled primaries were
postponed. Aides to both Biden's and Sanders's campaigns were in contact regarding the pandemic and its effects. On March 15,
Jen O'Malley Dillon was announced as Biden's new campaign manager, replacing Greg Schultz. Leading up to the 11th
Democratic presidential debate, Biden announced two new progressive policies: making public colleges and universities tuition-free for students of families whose income is less than $125,000, and allowing for student loan debts to default during bankruptcy. The debate was held on March 15, 2020, and was the first to feature only the race's two lead finalists. Biden announced that if he secured the nomination, he would choose a female running mate, having previously hinted as much by naming several contenders. On March 25, when asked whether he would debate Sanders again, Biden said, "My focus is just dealing with this crisis right now. I haven't thought about any more debates. I think we've had enough debates. I think we should get on with this." Sanders dropped out of the race on April 8, 2020 and endorsed Biden for
president on April 13. When Sanders suspended his campaign, Biden became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Biden is the second candidate in history to lose both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary and still become the Democratic nominee (the first was Bill Clinton in
1992). On April 9, 2020, a former Senate staffer told law enforcement officials that Biden had
sexually assaulted her in 1993; his campaign denied the accusation. On May 1, Biden stated that the allegation was false and requested that the
secretary of the Senate work with the
National Archives and Records Administration to identify and release any relevant documents. The Senate denied this request, saying personnel files are "strictly confidential". Two weeks later, Biden stated that he did not remember his accuser at all. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affected Biden's campaign. On April 25, 2020,
The New York Times reported that Biden had "developed a routine, of sorts, as he seeks the presidency from his basement". The
Times added: With the coronavirus outbreak freezing the country’s public life, Mr. Biden has been forced to adapt to a cloistered mode of campaigning never before seen in modern American politics. He was unable to embark on a victory tour after the Democratic primaries or hold unity rallies with onetime rivals like Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Instead, the former vice president is in a distinctive kind of lockdown, walled off from voters, separated from his top strategists and yet leading in the polls. By June 9, Biden had enough delegates to secure his nomination as the Democratic candidate.
Biden–Sanders Unity Task Forces After Sanders withdrew from the race, Biden and Sanders formed a series of task forces. These task forces aimed to bridge the divide between the moderate wing of the Democratic party, represented by Biden, and the left wing of the party, represented by Sanders. Six task forces were formed, each with members representing each candidate, covering
climate change,
criminal justice reform,
the economy,
education,
health care, and
immigration. The final report was released on July 8, 2020, and was expected to form the basis of the 2020 Democratic presidential
platform. The six groups were coordinated by
Analilia Mejia, political director to the Sanders primary campaign, and Carmel Martin, an advisor to Biden.
(Italics denotes the chair of a committee) Unity Task Force on Climate Change •
John Kerry •
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez •
Kathy Castor • Kerry Duggan •
Catherine Coleman Flowers •
Conor Lamb •
Gina McCarthy •
Donald McEachin •
Varshini Prakash Unity Task Force on Criminal Justice Reform •
Chiraag Bains •
Bobby Scott •
Raumesh Akbari •
Justin Bamberg •
Vanita Gupta •
Eric Holder •
Symone Sanders • Stacey Walker
Unity Task Force on the Economy •
Karen Bass •
Sara Nelson •
Jared Bernstein •
Darrick Hamilton •
Ben Harris •
Stephanie Kelton •
Lee Saunders •
Sonal Shah Unity Task Force on Education •
Marcia Fudge •
Heather Gautney • Alejandro Adler •
Lily Eskelsen Garcia • Maggie Thompson •
Christie Vilsack •
Randi Weingarten •
Hirokazu Yoshikawa Unity Task Force on Health Care •
Pramila Jayapal •
Vivek Murthy •
Donald Berwick •
Abdul El-Sayed •
Sherry Glied •
Mary Kay Henry • Chris Jennings •
Robin Kelly Unity Task Force on Immigration •
Lucille Roybal-Allard •
Marielena Hincapié •
Cristóbal Alex •
Veronica Escobar •
Marisa Franco • Juan Gonzalez •
Kate Marshall • Javier Valdés
Outcomes of the task forces On July 8, Biden's campaign released a set of policy recommendations adopted by the Unity Task Forces appointed by him and Bernie Sanders. The recommendations focus on climate change, criminal justice, the economy, education, health care, and immigration.
Vice presidential announcement and Democratic convention at the first campaign event of the ticket, on August 12, 2020 On August 5, it was reported that Biden would accept the Democratic nomination from his home state of Delaware due to the pandemic. On August 11, Biden announced that
Kamala Harris would be his running mate. The next day, the two made their first public appearance together promoting their mutual campaigns. On August 18, the second night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, the party officially nominated Biden, making him the first non-incumbent vice president to be nominated for president since
Walter Mondale in
1984. On August 19, Harris was nominated for vice president, making her the first
Asian American and the first female
African American to be nominated for vice president on a major party ticket. Biden accepted the nomination two nights later.
Chris Wallace of
Fox News Sunday called Biden's acceptance speech "enormously effective" and said he "blew a big hole" in Trump's characterization of the candidate as being "mentally shot." During the convention, delegates adopted the party platform, which was drafted by a committee of many of the same people from the unity task forces and based on the recommendations issued by those task forces.
Presidential debates Since Biden's successful nomination in the Democratic primaries Trump attempted to cast doubt over Biden's abilities, claiming that he was suffering from dementia and that he was taking performance-enhancing drugs in the primaries. Trump called for Biden to be drug tested before the presidential debate; Biden declined. Trump also claimed that Biden would use a hidden electronic earpiece for the debate, demanding that Biden's ears be searched. Again, Biden declined. The first debate took place at
Cleveland Clinic on September 29. It was moderated by
Chris Wallace. Debate topics included Trump's and Biden's records, the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic, race relations, and the
Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett. Each speaker was to have two minutes to state their positions followed with a period of discussion. The debate quickly devolved into cross talk and interruptions and was widely criticized as being a low point in U.S. presidential politics. Although Wallace pleaded multiple times with Trump to follow the agreed-upon debate rules, Trump frequently interrupted and spoke over Biden and at times with Wallace as well. Following the debate Wallace stated that while his own family and the Biden family wore masks as had been required for those in attendance, the Trump family did not and refused the masks offered to them by Cleveland Clinic staffers. The vice presidential debate between Harris and Pence took place as scheduled on October 7 with
Susan Page serving as moderator. The debate was generally seen as civil although there were frequent instances of both candidates interrupting while the other was speaking, with Harris interrupting only about half as often as Pence. Pence also repeatedly spoke beyond his allotted time, ignoring Page's attempts of asking him to mind the two-minute time limits. A CNN poll of registered voters found that 59% felt Harris had won, while 38% felt Pence to be the winner. The second debate was scheduled to take place on October 15, but was cancelled in light of the
White House COVID-19 outbreak and Trump's declared intention not to participate in a virtual debate. In response to Trump's refusal to debate Biden scheduled a town hall on
ABC for October 15; Trump then scheduled a town hall as well, on the same date and at the same time, to be broadcast on
NBC,
MSNBC, and
CNBC. According to
Nielsen ratings, nearly 700,000 more viewers watched Biden's town hall than those who watched Trump's, even though Trump appeared on three outlets. The final debate took place on Thursday, October 22, 2020, from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT, at the
Curb Event Center in
Belmont University in
Nashville,
Tennessee, with
Kristen Welker of NBC moderating. While it was originally planned to be the third debate, it was the second due to the cancellation of the October 15 debate. The topics covered included: fighting the current
COVID-19 pandemic, American families,
racial issues,
climate change, national security, and leadership. The debate rules were similar to the first, but due to President Trump's repeated interruptions in the prior debate, each candidate's microphones would be muted when it was not their turn to speak. This debate was considered to be drastically less hostile and much more informative, but both candidates still made several false or misleading claims. A post-debate CNN/SSRS poll found that 53% of debate-viewers thought that Biden had won and 39% thought Trump had won, with a margin of error of 5.7 points.
Final month On October 6, Biden made a campaign speech in
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, called "the best of his campaign" by CNN's
John Avlon. On October 15, both Biden and Trump held separate town hall speeches, replacing the cancelled second debate. On October 22, Biden and Trump participated in a second and final debate in Nashville, Tennessee. In contrast to the first debate, the microphones of both candidates were muted at select times. Trump pressed Biden on renewed allegations that during his time as vice president, members of his family had personally profited from his position in Ukraine and China; Biden denied any misconduct and pointed out controversies involving Trump and those countries. Trump repeatedly asked why Biden had not delivered on his 2020 campaign promises during his eight years in the White House, to which Biden responded, "we had a Republican Congress."
Texas Trump Train incident On Friday, October 30, 2020, a Biden campaign bus was reportedly surrounded and harassed by a "Trump Train" convoy of Trump supporters while traveling from
San Antonio to
Austin, Texas, along
Interstate 35. The bus, which carried former state senator
Wendy Davis and several campaign staffers, was followed along the interstate by nearly 100 vehicles, including many flying Donald Trump flags. The vehicles forced the campaign bus to slow its speed to 20 miles per hour. No one was injured, and local law enforcement helped the bus reach its destination. There was a minor collision between a vehicle driven by a Trump supporter and a vehicle driven by a Biden campaign staffer. After the incident, the Biden campaign cancelled two planned events in Austin, Texas. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched an investigation into the incident. Trump subsequently criticized the FBI's decision at a rally. He later tweeted, "In my opinion, these patriots did nothing wrong. Instead, the FBI & Justice should be investigating the terrorists, anarchists, and agitators of ANTIFA, who run around burning down our Democrat run cities and hurting our people!" In response to the Trump train incident, two lawsuits were filed—one against the occupants of the cars alleged to be involved in the incident, and one against local law enforcement. Transcripts of a 911 call regarding the incident indicated that San Marcos police refused to escort the bus and laughed and joked about the situation. Two individual defendants made a settlement with the plaintiffs in 2023. Hannah Ceh and Kyle Kruger wrote in their settlement that they apologized for participating in the Trump Train incident. The filings state that Kruger was driving Ceh's white Toyota Tundra while Ceh sat in the passenger seat. Other terms of the settlement were not disclosed. On September 23, 2024, a jury found one of the remaining six defendants liable for $30,000 in punitive damages to be split among the three plaintiffs and $10,000 in compensatory damages to the bus driver. The
City of San Marcos settled the lawsuit against it in 2023. The city agreed to pay $175,000 to the plaintiffs and the City agreed that San Marcos police officers and professional staff will receive training on responding to political violence and voter intimidation and ways to develop community trust. The City issued a statement expressing regret for the unfortunate experience of the plaintiffs, but also said that the City continues to deny many of the allegations against it.
Election Day and beyond after the major networks project Biden the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. results of the 2020 presidential election; Biden won a majority of 306 votes The presidential election was held on November 3, 2020. On November 6, election-calling organization
Decision Desk HQ asserted that Biden had won the election based on its forecast that Biden had won Pennsylvania; this result, coupled with Biden's other projected state wins, would give him over 270 electoral college votes. By November 7, various major news outlets forecasted that Biden had won the election. Biden won 306 electoral college votes to Trump's 232. This was the exact margin by which Trump had won in his 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton, which Trump had repeatedly called a "landslide victory". Biden received 81,283,501 votes to Trump's 74,223,975. Biden broke the record for
most votes cast during an election in the history of the United States, while Trump received the most votes ever for a sitting president. Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate since the 1990s to win the Sun Belt states of
Georgia and
Arizona. In contrast, he was the first presidential candidate to be elected president without winning the states of
Florida since
1992 and
Ohio since
1960. He also became the first Democrat to win the presidential election without the state of
Iowa since
1976. By December 9, every state had certified its election results, with
West Virginia being the final state to do so. On Monday, December 14, the
Electoral College voted to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. During and after the 2020 presidential election, Trump and his allies repeatedly claimed, often with little or no evidence, that there was significant
electoral fraud in the 2020 election. Because of this, Trump and his lawyers called for swing state officials to overturn the results, frequently drawing criticism for their inflammatory and violent remarks. Trump's supporters filed lawsuits challenging the results in several different swing states. As of December 2020, more than 50 such lawsuits had been either withdrawn or dismissed. Notably, a major lawsuit challenging the vote in six different swing states was unanimously rejected by the conservative majority
Supreme Court. on January 20, 2021 as the 46th president of the United States On January 6, 2021, a violent group of Trump supporters
broke into the
United States Capitol while Congress was
counting the electoral votes in an attempt to halt or slow the proceedings. The rioters were not successful in stopping the count, though they did manage to delay the certification by a few hours. Despite the attacks, lawmakers successfully met and began counting the electoral votes submitted by the states on January 6. In a last-ditch attempt at overturning the election, several
Republican members of the
House and
Senate objected to the January 6 certification of the Electoral College, but after a long night of deliberation,
Mike Pence certified the results for Biden, ensuring that Biden would take office as the 46th president at noon on
January 20. ==Polling==