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Though the presidential election will not occur until November, Monday, Feb. 3 marked the official beginning of the 2020 election season. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have begun the process to determine their presidential candidate, convening for the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries. However, the Democratic hopefuls have received significantly more attention, as the Democratic nominee will almost certainly face the divisive Donald Trump in his bid for reelection.
Each U.S. state determines whether voters registered there will participate in a primary or a caucus. The results of each determine the party representatives, or delegates, who are sent to the national convention. The delegates’ votes at the national conventions select each party’s presidential nominee.
In a primary, voters cast secret ballots at their polling place; in a caucus, a more complicated process occurs. Voters meet in groups throughout the state for discussions before selecting delegates to represent various candidates. To complicate matters, rules also differ by party, with the Republicans and Democrats each setting their own standards. Democratic delegates represent candidates proportionally, with different numbers of delegates based on votes received by each candidate. Republican delegates may also be proportional, or all delegates can support one candidate — it varies by state.
State rules also determine who may participate in primary elections, with some involving only registered party members and others allowing participation of unaffiliated voters.
As incumbent president, Trump securely holds a majority of delegates in the primaries so far. His nomination is all but guaranteed: he received 39 of 40 delegates in the Iowa caucus, with challenger Bill Weld receiving only one. Trump also received all 22 of New Hampshire’s delegates.
The Democratic caucus in Iowa brought much more controversy, and not just in the distribution of delegates. This year, the Democratic party implemented a mobile app to report results, but problems appeared early, with some officials reporting that they could not log into the app.
While the Democratic party announced that technological issues would not hinder election results, results were indeed delayed. Results remained in question for several days, and prominent organizations like the Associated Press, the New York Times and NPR refrained from announcing a winner.
Current data narrowly places former Mayor Pete Buttigieg at the top, with 26.2 percent of the vote and 14 delegates, but a close race earned Senator Bernie Sanders 26.1 percent of the vote and 12 delegates. The two candidates essentially remain in a tie, and neither has securely claimed the first primary win, a historically important indicator of election results.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joseph Biden and Senator Amy Klobuchar rounded out the top five, with eight, six and one delegate, respectively.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez was among those who called for a recanvass of the results under suspicion of inconsistencies, especially with the complication of the failed app. The re-examination of votes completed by the Democratic Party did not change the results, but it did add one more delegate to Buttigieg’s total.
New Hampshire brought fewer controversies. Sanders finished first, earning 26 percent of votes and nine delegates; Buttigieg trailed with 24 percent of votes but an equal nine delegates. A surprise showing by Amy Klobuchar led to her third place finish, gaining support from 20 percent of voters and six delegates. While they received no delegates, Warren and Biden once more rounded out the top five.
With Buttigieg leading at 23 delegates, and Sanders close behind at 21, the Democratic presidential nominee remains highly uncertain — especially as a candidate needs 1,991 delegates to secure the nomination. The upcoming Nevada caucuses and South Carolina primary, in advance of primaries in 14 states on “Super Tuesday,” will further determine who will be on the ballot come November.
The Pennsylvania primary election will take place April 28, 2020. Voter registration continues until April 13.
