2020 Democratic National Convention

The host city of the convention was Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Fiserv Forum was originally planned as the venue for the convention.

Bids on the site for the convention were solicited for the convention by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in late 2017.[3] Preliminary requirements for host cities that the DNC laid out included that they should have between 17,000 and 18,000 hotel rooms (including 1,000 luxury suites) located within 30 minutes of the convention venue.[4]

The Democratic National Committee made the bids public in the spring of 2018.[3] Las Vegas withdrew and decided to focus on the 2020 Republican National Convention, for which its bid was subsequently defeated by Charlotte.[5] In April 2018, the Democratic National Committee sent requests for proposals to the eight remaining cities that had expressed interest in hosting the event (Atlanta, Birmingham, Denver, Houston, Miami, Milwaukee, New York City, and San Francisco).[6]

On June 20, 2018, the Democratic National Committee announced four finalists for the convention site (Denver, Houston, Miami, and Milwaukee). Immediately following the announcement, the finalist city of Denver withdrew from consideration due to apparent scheduling conflicts.[7]

Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Tom Perez announced on March 11, 2019, that Milwaukee would host the convention.[8]

The selection of Milwaukee made this the first Democratic National Convention to be hosted in the Midwestern United States since Chicago hosted the 1996 Democratic National Convention,[9] and the first to be hosted in a midwestern city other than Chicago since St. Louis hosted the 1916 Democratic National Convention.[10] This was the first major party convention held in Milwaukee.[11][12] It was also the first major party convention to be held in any city in the state of Wisconsin.[12][13]

Milwaukee is a smaller than other metropolitan areas that have hosted recent major party conventions.[13] Milwaukee is among the smallest metropolitan areas to have hosted a major party convention.[14] Milwaukee's success in bidding for the convention was viewed in some circles as an upset, as the other two remaining finalist cities were not only larger metropolitan areas, but also had significant experience hosting major events such as Super Bowls.[15]

Milwaukee's selection was seen, in part, as emphasizing party's desire to place an focus on winning Midwestern states like Wisconsin, and its desire to win back "blue wall" states in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region.[13][16][17] The swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin had been the states which the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence had won by the narrowest margins in the preceding 2016 election,[18] and had these states been instead won by the 2016 Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine, they would have delivered the Democratic ticket an electoral college victory in 2016.[19] The 2016 election had also been the first time since the 1980s that any of these three states had voted Republican.[20] The three aforementioned "blue wall" states were, ultimately, won by the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020.[21][22]

Some sources cited DNC chairman Tom Perez's personal connections to Milwaukee as a factor that aided Milwaukee's selection. His wife had originally been from nearby Wauwatosa, they had held their wedding in Milwaukee, and their daughter was a current student at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.[23][24]

Several venues in a variety of cities made to efforts to be selected as the location of the 2020 convention.

On June 24, 2020, it was announced that the convention had been downsized and would be held at Milwaukee's Wisconsin Center instead of its originally planned venue, Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum.[31][32][33] The change of location made this the first major party convention held in a convention center since the 1996 Republican National Convention, and the first Democratic convention to be held in such a venue since the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

Superdelegates are delegates to the convention who are automatically chosen by the party, rather than by the results of primaries and caucuses. While technically unpledged, in the past many of them have informally pledged themselves to a predesignated front-runner in previous elections. The superdelegate system is controversial among Democrats, and supporters of both Clinton and Sanders have called for their removal in 2020.[34][35]

The Unity Reform Commission, created after the 2016 election, recommended[36] that the number of 2020 superdelegates be drastically reduced. In July 2018, the DNC revoked the voting rights for superdelegates on the first ballot,[37][38] unless a candidate has secured a majority using only pledged delegates.[39]

Except for the presidential nomination, superdelegates will vote on all issues.[40]

The number of delegates allocated to each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., are based on, among others, the proportion of votes each state gave to the Democratic candidate in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 presidential elections. A fixed number of pledged delegates are allocated to each of the five U.S. territories and Democrats Abroad.[41]

The Democratic National Committee's 2020 selection rules state that any candidate who is no longer running loses the statewide delegates they have won and those delegates are then reallocated to candidates still in the race. However, the interpretation of this rule in 2020 races might be different than the interpretation in past races.[42] In previous elections, such as the 2008 presidential primary, candidates would suspend their candidacies rather than formally withdraw, allowing their already pledged delegates to attend the convention and pick up new ones along the way.[43] They would then formally withdraw when it was too late to reallocate the delegations.

Host committee logo

The Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee was established to organize the convention.

In October 2019, the Host Committee announced its leadership team.[51] The president of the Host Committee was Liz Gilbert.[51] Leadership included a board of directors.[51] Further leadership included co-chairs and vice chairs, as well as honorary vice-chairs.[51] The co-chairs of the Host Committee were Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett and Congresswoman Gwen Moore.[51] Vice chairs included Milwaukee County executive Chris Abele, U.S. senator Tammy Baldwin, Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin Mandela Barnes, Governor of Wisconsin Tony Evers, former U.S. senator Herb Kohl.[51] Honorary vice chairs included Milwaukee Common Council president Ashanti Hamilton and Wisconsin state treasurer Sarah Godlewski, Democratic leader for the Wisconsin State Assembly Gordon Hintz, Attorney General of Wisconsin Josh Kaul, Congressman Ron Kind, Wisconsin secretary of state Doug La Follette, Congressman Mark Pocan, and Wisconsin State Senate minority leader Jennifer Shilling.[51] Additionally, the Host Committee's honorary finance chair was Alex Lasry, the senior vice president of the Milwaukee Bucks.[51]

In early February 2020, Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee president Liz Gilbert and her chief-of-staff Adam Lonso were both fired after an investigation found that the committee's "work environment did not meet the ideals and expectations" of the organization's board (with allegations of a "toxic" work environment).[52] Acting as interim leader of the Host Committee was Teresa Vilmain.[53] In late February, new leadership team was announced with Raquel Filmanowicz serving as CEO and Paula Penebaker serving as COO, with both taking these positions formally on March 2, 2020.[53]

The host committee raised $40 million to stage the convention.[54]

The convention was originally scheduled to be held July 13–16, 2020,[55]

On April 2, 2020, it was announced that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the convention would be delayed to August 17–20.[56]

As early as April 2020, the Democratic Party had been bracing for the possibility of a virtual convention.[57] On May 12, 2020, the Democratic National Committee authorized the convention planners to research alternative methods for participants to cast votes, considering the possibility that the Democratic National Committee may decide to hold the entire convention virtually.[58]

On June 24, 2020, it was announced that the convention was to be downsized. The venue was shifted from the Fiserv Forum to the Wisconsin Center. But, instead of the entire convention being held in Milwaukee, it would now feature Milwaukee as merely a hub city for the major convention events. The convention was now planned to instead consist of what the DNC said would be "curated content from Milwaukee and other satellite cities, locations, and landmarks across the country".[59][32][60] All official business will now be conducted remotely. Organizers canceled official parties and events scheduled to be held in Milwaukee before and coinciding with the convention.[32] Delegates were asked to no longer travel to Milwaukee, and plans were now formally made to implement a system for them cast their votes virtually.[61]

In mid-July, members of Congress were told not to travel to attend the event in Milwaukee.[62]

At the announcement of the downsizing it was declared that Biden would accept his nomination in Milwaukee.[59] It was later announced on July 30, 2020, that his running mate would also accept her nomination in Milwaukee.[63] However, on August 5, 2020, it was announced that Biden no longer planned to travel to Milwaukee to accept his nomination, and would instead do so from Delaware.[64][65] It was also announced then that the other scheduled speakers, including Biden's running mate, will also be addressing the convention remotely.[64][66] This is seen as, effectively, moving to make the convention almost entirely virtual.[66] This was the first time that a major party presidential candidate has accepted their nomination remotely since Franklin D. Roosevelt did so in 1944.[67]

The convention was first shrunk to feature only 5,000 attendees in its Milwaukee hub venue.[44] It was later further shrunk to feature only 1,000 attendees there.[44] It was further shrunk to include just 300 people, including both attendees and media granted access.[68] Due to an order by the Milwaukee Health Department barring gatherings over 250 people, the total number of people permitted to gather at the Milwaukee convention hub was capped at that number.[57][69][70] There were be no delegates in the Wisconsin Center.[71]

While speakers were not traveling to Milwaukee, it was still planned for Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Tom Perez and Secretary of the Democratic National Committee Jason Rae (also secretary of the convention) to be in Milwaukee.[72][73]

The Wisconsin Center was used for the convention's broadcast and production.[74] It acted as the control room and "hub" of the convention production.[75] The convention saw a mix of pre-recorded segments and live broadcasts from sites across the United States.[67] The convention organizers designated a custom video control room designed to handle hundreds of feeds from across the country, in order to accommodate the remote speeches.[64][76] The control room was located in the exhibit hall on the third floor of the Wisconsin Center.[77][78]

A stage had been set up in a conference room on the second floor of the Wisconsin Center.[77][78] The stage at the Wisconsin Center saw limited use, with a number participants from Wisconsin using it as the venue for their participation in the convention.[77][79] Speakers from Wisconsin delivered their speeches from the stage at the Wisconsin Center.[79] Convention secretary Jason Rae also directed the roll call from the Wisconsin Center stage.[79]

In addition to the physical aspects of the convention being downsized, the duration was also significantly downsized. The convention's program was downsized from one that was originally expected to total 24 hours over the four days, to one that would total only eight hours.[54]

The downsizing led the convention organizers to need far fewer volunteers than the 15,000 they had originally been trying to recruit.[80]

The owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Fiserv Forum threatened to sue the Democratic Party, which had paid only $5.5 million of the $7 million rent on the abandoned venue.[81]

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a number of protocols have been put in place.

Participants at Wisconsin Center were required to self-quarantine for at least 72 hours before arriving, wear personal protective equipment, undergo daily COVID-19 testing, partake in symptom tracking through a daily questionnaire, avoid bars and restaurants, and follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.[82]

As is routine for a major party convention, the event had been designated a National Special Security Event.[83] Originally, the United States Department of Justice was to provide $50 million in security, but this was decreased to $40 million.[84]

The boundaries of the planned security footprint, in which increased security measures would be implemented, but in which individuals not attending the convention (including demonstrators) were still to be permitted, was announced in January 2020. The streets marking the boundary of the announced footprint were to be Cherry Street on the north, 10th Street on the west, Clybourn Street, and Water Street on the east.[85][86] On July 24, 2020, the Milwaukee Common Council passed an ordinance that would ban a long list of items from the security footprint, including air rifles, nunchucks, drones, containers of bodily fluids, glass bottles, and coolers.[87] On August 12, 2020, it was announced that the security footprint had been shrunk significantly.[88] The security footprint ultimately encompassed almost only areas directly surrounding the convention center.[88][89][90]

Fencing was erected surrounding the Wisconsin Center.[86][91]

Originally, the city originally budgeted to have approximately 3,000 law enforcement officers from outside the city assist the Milwaukee Police Department during the convention.[84] This was decreased to approximately 2,000.[84] By late July there were anticipated to be only 1,100 officers from outside the city assisting the department.[92] However, in late July, more than 100 police agencies announced that they would be withdrawing from their contracts to provide personnel to aid in security during the convention after the Milwaukee police chief announced that their department would restrict the use of tear gas and pepper spray by law enforcement during demonstrations and protests.[93] The Wisconsin National Guard then planned to provide hundreds of members to help with security.[94]

There had been talk of potentially limiting boat traffic on the Milwaukee River by placing a temporary stay on all bridge openings, but this security measure did not materialize.[88][95]

Temporary flight restrictions were to be in place each night from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. CDT.[88] A ban on drones would also be in place.[88]

While the primary purpose of political conventions is, and always was, to decide who the nominees for president and vice president are to be, the secondary purpose was always that of socializing.[96] Entertainment is also a major element of the event, which in the past has included a house band for the main venue, theater, culinary experiences,[97][98] and hundreds of motivational speakers. Indeed, the convention experience for attendees at the venue itself is extremely different from that for the viewer at home. With live coverage of the event limited, outside of the three major news networks and C-SPAN, to the keynote and acceptance speeches, the challenge to the DNC is how to boost ratings while increasing the nominee's lead in opinion polls. With social distancing still paramount to ensure the safety of the tens of thousands of people who were due to attend the main venue in Milwaukee, will not be able to do so, alternative methods are planned for a series of satellite venues across the country.[59]

The official theme of the convention will be "Uniting America".[99]

The downsizing and coronavirus concerns also mean the convention will not see the festive balloon drop often seen at such conventions following the presidential candidate's acceptance speech.[100] First appearing at the 1932 Republican National Convention, a balloon drop would later reappear at the 1956 Republican National Convention, and would become a staple of most major party conventions held since.[101] However, not all Democratic conventions have featured balloon drops. Most recently, both the 2008 and 2012 Democratic National Conventions did not see balloon drops, due to the fact that the final night of the 2008 edition was held outdoors in a stadium, and due to the fact that the final night of the 2012 edition had originally been scheduled to be held outdoors before being moved indoors. Other Democratic conventions that went without balloon drops included the 1984 and 1988 editions.[101]

Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware, was a satellite location.

When party officials concluded that the pandemic would make a traditional convention impossible, they decided to adopt a format that was dramatically different from past conventions. The event has been officially dubbed a "Convention Across America".[59][99]

While the convention will be anchored in Milwaukee, the events will be held in a dozen or so satellite sites spread out across the nation. From there, the delegations will transmit their votes on the floor of the Wisconsin Center, where a representative will announce the votes to relevant officials at the chair in the main venue.[102]

It was announced that none of the speakers would have in-person crowds at their speaking locations.[103]

There were key satellite locations located at studios in Los Angeles, New York City, and at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware.[104][105] The emcees hosting each night were presenting from the satellite site in Los Angeles.[104]

Public hearings were live-streamed on the DNCC's YouTube channel on the following topics:[109]

• Monday, June 29 from 5-8 p.m. ET: "Addressing the COVID-19 Health Crisis and Building Back Better."[109] A "Medicare for All" provision was rejected by the committee on June 27 on a 125–36 vote.[110]
• Wednesday, July 1 from 5-8 p.m. ET: "A Vision for a More Equitable Future"[109]
• Thursday, July 2 from 5-8 p.m. ET: "Restoring the Soul of America"[109]

The full Platform Drafting Committee met on July 15 and 27,[111] where they submitted a finished product[112][113] to be voted on via the internet from August 1–15.

After months of negotiations, Biden/Sanders platform task force issued its 110-page report on July 9 outlining platform recommendations.[114] Convention delegates officially adopted the Democratic Party's 2020 platform on August 18,[115] following delegate balloting by mail.[110] The platform was divided into ten sections: "pandemic response, the economy, health care, criminal justice, climate, immigration, education, foreign policy, voting rights, and identity-related rights issues."[116] The platform calls for:

• A universal public health insurance option for all Americans.[116]
• Allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices.[116]
• Universal free COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccines.[116]
• To combat climate change, eliminating carbon emissions (pollution) from power plants by 2035 and making substantial investments in U.S. infrastructure and renewable energy.[116]
• Increasing housing supply, including affordable housing.[116]
• Making community colleges tuition-free for all, and making public colleges and universities tuition-free for students from families with under $125,000 in annual income.[116]
• An increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour and an increase in the Child and Dependent Care tax credit.[116]
• Comprehensive criminal justice reform.[116]
• Repealing the Hyde Amendment.[116]
• Decriminalizing the use of marijuana and allowing states to fully legalize marijuana.[116]
• Statehood for the District of Columbia; self-determination for Puerto Rico, including the right of Puerto Ricans to decide whether to become a state; and restoration of Voting Rights Act provisions.[116]
• Comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants.[116]
• "Bring our forever wars to a responsible end" but maintain a small U.S. military presence in Iraq to "ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS"[116]
• End the "race to war with Iran" and seek restoration of the Obama-era multilateral agreement with Iran.[116]
• Support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, coupled with an "ironclad" commitment to the security of Israel.[116]

The platform was the most progressive in Democratic Party history,[115] and the most progressive for any major political party in U.S. history.[116] However, there was some dissent from the party's left wing over the omission of platform planks supporting single-payer healthcare ("Medicare for All") or the Green New Deal.[115] Prior to the convention, over 700 delegates, largely from Bernie Sanders' camp, previously signed a statement vowing to vote against the platform because it did not include a provision supporting Medicare for All;[117] this included U.S. representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ro Khanna.[115][118][119][116] Although the platform was adopted, a final vote count was not released.[115]

On July 30, 2020, the officers of the convention were designated.[73][124] Representative Bennie Thompson served as the permanent chair of the convention.[73][125]

Permanent co-chairs were Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, Rep. Tony Cárdenas of California, Senator Tom Carper of Delaware, Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Mayor of Atlanta Keisha Lance Bottoms, and New Jersey governor Phil Murphy.[73][124] The convention's vice-chairs were Senator Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, former representative Tony Coelho of California, Representative Sharice Davids of Kansas, Lieutenant Governor of Michigan Garlin Gilchrist, Congresswoman Donna Shalala of Florida, former Representative Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire, Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin Mandela Barnes, and Lieutenant Governor of Nevada Kate Marshall.[73][124] Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer served as honorary chairs.[73][124]

The convention's sergeant-at-arms was Representative Gwen Moore of Wisconsin.[124][126] Jason Rae acted as secretary of the convention.[73] The convention's parliamentarians were House majority leader Steny Hoyer, Helen McFadden, Sarah E. Merkle, and state senator Yvanna Cancela of Nevada.[73]

The table below reflects the presumed delegate count as per the 2020 Democratic primaries.

As of July 2020, the following overall number of pledged delegates is subject to change, as possible penalty/bonus delegates (awarded for each state scheduled election date and potential regional clustering) may be altered.[127]

The 2020 Democratic Party rules state that, unless a candidate has secured a majority of delegates using only pledged delegates, the superdelegates will have no voting rights on the first ballot.[37][38][39]

Candidates who have suspended their campaigns without having received any pledged or superdelegate endorsements, as well as those who've suspended their campaigns and subsequently lost their endorsements to other candidates, are not included in the table below.

The table below reflects the presumed pledged delegate count following the 2020 Democratic primaries. In addition to these, there will also be 771 superdelegate votes (including the eight half-votes belonging to Democrats Abroad superdelegates), making for 4,750 combined delegate votes.[127][128]

Pledged delegates by candidate

Candidate	Pledged delegates[129]
Joe Biden	2,716
Bernie Sanders	1,112
Elizabeth Warren	63
Michael Bloomberg	59
Pete Buttigieg	21
Amy Klobuchar	7
Tulsi Gabbard	2
Total pledged delegate votes	3,979[128]

Results of the delegate roll call by state/territory

  Joe Biden

  Bernie Sanders

In an email, DNC secretary Jason Rae wrote to delegates outlining the process for that year's convention, noting that the planning committee "concluded that state delegations should not plan to travel to Milwaukee and official convention business will be conducted remotely."

Delegates vote remotely using a system the planning committee crafted that allows them to cast their ballots via email, with unique identifiers for security. The DNC had plans to certify each delegate.

The party said delegates would be able to fill out the forms electronically, with no need for a printer or physical copy, according to the letter. The ballot, which includes questions about platform planks and the party's nominees, will be emailed to their state's committee. Once a state party had all the ballots from their delegation, the state delegation's chair would "submit a tally sheet to the Secretary's Office that formally records the number of votes cast on each item of convention business," The votes would be counted all at once on August 15, not as they come in.

Voting began August 3 and ended August 15, when the state delegation chairs were asked to submit their final tallies to the DNC secretary. That meant that the party knew the tally of votes for its nominee before the convention formally began.[130][131]

The traditional roll call of the states was held on the second night of the convention. It was done remotely from each of the 57 delegations, including all 50 states and seven additional territories/jurisdictions (the District of Columbia, the five inhabited U.S. territories, and Democrats Abroad).[132] Organizers planned for it to last approximately 30 minutes.[133] Convention secretary Jason Rae directed the roll call from the Wisconsin Center.[79]

The remote roll call was widely praised.[134][135][136][137]

Democratic presidential nomination ballot[1]

Candidates	Joe Biden	Bernie Sanders	Abstain[note 2]
Alabama	52	8	0
Alaska	12	7	0
American Samoa	11	0	0
Arizona	51	29	0
Arkansas	27	9	0
California	263	231	0
Colorado	42	36	1[lower-alpha 1]
Connecticut	75	0	0
Delaware	32	0	0
Democrats Abroad	7	10	0
Washington, D.C.	43	1	1
Florida	192	57	0
Georgia	117	0	1
Guam	11	2	0
Hawaii	23	9	1
Idaho	16	9	0
Illinois	122	59	1
Indiana	86	2	1
Iowa	38	11	0
Kansas	35	10	0
Kentucky	60	0	0
Louisiana	60	0	0
Maine	22	9	1
Maryland	119	1	0
Massachusetts	83	30	1
Michigan	92	53	2
Minnesota	60	31	0
Mississippi	38	2	1
Missouri	50	28	1
Montana	18	1	6
Nebraska	33	0	0
Nevada	25	24	0
New Hampshire	24	9	0
New Jersey	139	5	2
New Mexico	42	4	0
New York	277	44	3
North Carolina	83	39	0
North Dakota	8	10	0
Northern Marianas	9	2	0
Ohio	134	20	0
Oklahoma	24	13	6
Oregon	57	16	1
Pennsylvania	175	34	1
Puerto Rico	53	5	0
Rhode Island	34	1	0
South Carolina	49	15	0
South Dakota	17	3	1
Tennessee	50	23	0
Texas	161	98	1[lower-alpha 1]
Utah	16	17	1
Vermont	9	15	0
Virgin Islands, U.S.	13	0	0
Virginia	91	32	1
Washington	66	43	0
West Virginia	34	0	0
Wisconsin	67	30	0
Wyoming	11	4	3[lower-alpha 1]
Unassigned[138]			2[138]
States and territories	53	4	0
Total delegates	3,558	1,151	40[lower-alpha 2]

Announcing their states' delegates' nominations were:

List of speakers announcing delegations' roll-call votes, sortable

State		Speaker	Position/Notability	Location	Notes	Cite
Alabama		Terri Sewell	United States Representative from Alabama	Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama		[139][140][141]
Alaska		Chuck Degnan	Veteran, commercial fisherman, Alaska Native leader and Democratic Party activist			[142][143]
American Samoa		Aliitama Sotoa	Democratic Party leaders of American Samoa			[142]
		Patti Matila
Arizona		Marisol Garcia	Middle school social studies teacher			[142][144]
Arkansas		Gilbert Alaquinez	Chef at Clinton Foundation	Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas		[142]
California		Barbara Lee	United States Representative from California			[139][141]
		Hilda Solis	Member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from the 1st District and United States Secretary of Labor			[139]
Colorado		Howard Chou	Immigrant and party activist			[142]
Connecticut		Peter Carozza	Retired firefighter and firefighters' union leader	Hartford, Connecticut		[142][145]
Delaware		John Carney	Governor of Delaware	Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station in Wilmington, Delaware	Passed to go last	[139][141][142]
		Tom Carper	United States Senator from Delaware
Democrats Abroad		Julia Bryan	International Chair of Democrats Abroad[146]	Prague, Czech Republic		[142]
District of Columbia		Muriel Bowser	Mayor of the District of Columbia	Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC		[139][141]
Florida		Fred Guttenberg	Gun control activist	Pompano Beach, Florida		[139][141]
Georgia		Nikema Williams	Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, Georgia State Senator for Georgia's 39th state senate district and 2020 Democratic nominee for Georgia's 5th congressional district	Atlanta, Georgia		[139]
Guam		Sarah Thomas-Nededog	Chair of the Democratic Party of Guam			[142]
Hawaii		Dr. Amy Agbayani	Civil rights activist			[142]
Idaho		Lauren McLean	Mayor of Boise	Boise, Idaho		[139]
Illinois		Carol Moseley Braun	Former United States Senator from Illinois	Old State Capitol State Historic Site in Springfield, Illinois		[139]
Indiana		Pete Buttigieg	Former Mayor of South Bend	South Bend, Indiana		[139][141]
Iowa		Tom Vilsack	Former United States Secretary of Agriculture and former Governor of Iowa			[139]
Kansas		Mark Pringle	Farmer			[142]
Kentucky		Colmon Elridge	Education advocate			[142]
Louisiana		Cedric Richmond	United States Representative from Louisiana	New Orleans, Louisiana		[139]
		LaToya Cantrell	Mayor of New Orleans			[139]
Maine		Craig Hickman	Maine State Representative from Maine's 82nd state house district	Winthrop, Maine		[139]
Maryland		Brandon Scott	President of the Baltimore City Council	Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park in Baltimore, Maryland		[139]
		Bianca Shah	College student			[139]
Massachusetts		Claire D. Cronin	Massachusetts State Representative from the Massachusetts House of Representatives' 11th Plymouth district			[139]
Michigan		Gary Peters	United States senator from Michigan	Detroit, Michigan		[139]
		Ray Curry	UAW auto worker			[139]
Minnesota		Amy Klobuchar	United States senator from Minnesota	Minneapolis, Minnesota		[139][141]
		Melvin Carter	Mayor of St. Paul	St. Paul, Minnesota		[139]
Mississippi		Dr. Carmen Walters	President of Tougaloo College			[142]
Missouri		Reuben Gill	Bricklayer	St. Louis, Missouri		[139][142]
Montana		Rachel Prevost	Recent college graduate			[142][147]
Nebraska		Geraldine Waller	Meatpacking employee			[142]
Nevada		Dina Titus	United States Representative from Nevada's 1st congressional district	Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign in Paradise, Nevada		[139]
New Hampshire		John Lynch	Former Governor of New Hampshire			[139]
New Jersey		Phil Murphy	Governor of New Jersey	Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey		[139]
New Mexico		Derrick J. Lente	New Mexico State Representative from New Mexico's 65th state House district	Sandia Pueblo Reservation in New Mexico		[139]
New York		Scheena Iyande Tannis	Registered nurse and member of 1199 SEIU		Lieutenant Governor of New York Kathy Hochul in attendance	[139][142]
North Carolina		Cozzie Watkins	Democratic activist	Charlotte, North Carolina		[142]
North Dakota		Cesar Alvarez	Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation citizen and advocate			[148]
Northern Mariana Islands		Nola Kileleman Hix	Chair of the Northern Mariana Islands Democratic Party			[142]
Ohio		Tim Ryan	United States Representative from Ohio's 13th congressional district			[139]
		Josh Abernathy	IBEW organizer			[139]
Oklahoma		Alicia Andrews	Chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party	Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma		[139][142]
Oregon		Dr. Rosa Colquitt	Activist			[142]
		Travis Nelson	Registered Nurse
Pennsylvania		Bob Casey Jr.	United States senator from Pennsylvania	Childhood home of Joe Biden in Scranton, Pennsylvania		[139][141]
Puerto Rico		Carmelo Ríos Santiago	Majority leader of the Puerto Rico Senate			[142]
Rhode Island		Joseph McNamara	Chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Party and Rhode Island State Representative from Rhode Island's 19th state house district			[139][141]
South Carolina		Jaime Harrison	U.S. Senate nominee and former Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party	South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina		[139]
South Dakota		Kellen Returns From Scout	Tribal activist of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe	Black Hills in South Dakota		[139][142][149]
Tennessee		Keely Sage	College student	Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee		[142][141]
Texas		Veronica Escobar	United States Representative from Texas's 16th congressional district	El Paso, Texas		[139]
Utah		Jenny Wilson	Mayor of Salt Lake County	Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, Utah		[142]
Vermont		David Zuckerman	Lieutenant Governor of Vermont		Bernie Sanders and Jane Sanders in attendance	[139][141][142]
Virgin Islands, U.S.		Cecil Benjamin	Chair of the Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands			[142]
Virginia		Khizr Khan	Lawyer	Freedom of Speech Wall, Charlottesville, Virginia		[139]
Washington		My-Linh Thai	Washington State Representative from Washington's 41st state house district	Kerry Park in Seattle, Washington		[139][142]
West Virginia		Fred Albert	Educator and union organizer			[142]
Wyoming		Dennis Shepard	Activists, parents of Matthew Shepard			[141][142]
		Judy Shepard
Wisconsin		Mandela Barnes	Lieutenant governor of Wisconsin	Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin		[139][142]
Delaware		John Carney	Governor of Delaware	Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station in Wilmington, Delaware		[139]
		Tom Carper	United States senator from Delaware

The Rules Committee report which was passed by the convention addressed, among other things, the fiascos that occurred during the 1972 and 1980 conventions as regards selection of the vice-presidential nominee.

Rule C.7. of the Rules of Procedure states:[150]

7. Nomination for the Democratic Candidate for Vice President: The Democratic candidate(s) for Vice President shall be nominated by the Presidential candidate who has obtained a number of pledged delegates equal to a majority of all pledged and automatic delegates to the Convention. If there is only one nominee for Vice President, the Chair is authorized to declare the nominated individual the Democratic Candidate for Vice President.

In accordance with this provision, Biden submitted Harris' name to the chairman, Bennie Thompson, and after Thompson's public reading of the rule, she was declared nominated.

Democratic National Convention Pool Feeds
Night 1
from MSNBC via YouTube[151]
from C-SPAN via YouTube[152]
from PBS NewsHour via YouTube[153]
from Politico via YouTube[154]

Democratic National Convention Democratic Party Streams
Night 1
Official convention stream via YouTube[155]
Official ASL convention stream via YouTube[156]
Official spanish-language convention stream via YouTube[157]

9:00–11:00 p.m. EDT[158]

Emcee: Eva Longoria[159]

Theme

"We the People"[99]

Sub-themes

• "We the People Demanding Racial Justice"[160]
• "We the People Helping Each Other Through COVID-19"[160]
• "We the People Putting Country Over Party"[160]
• "We the People Recovering"[160]
• "We the People Rise"[160]

Evening schedule

• Opening ceremonies[73]
  • Introduction by actress Eva Longoria[160]
  • Call to Order by convention chair Bennie Thompson[160]
  • Pledge of Allegiance[160]
  • Performance of the United States national anthem ("The Star-Spangled Banner")[160]
  • Invocation by Gabriel Salguero[160]
• Main convention program[160]
• Benediction by Jerry Young[160]
• Nightly close of order by convention chair Bennie Thompson[155]

Select speakers (in order of appearance)

Speakers planned for 1st evening (Monday) of 2020 convention

Speaker		Position/notability	Location	Notes	Cite
	Eva Longoria	Actress and activist	Los Angeles, California	Emcee	[155][160][159]
	Bennie Thompson	United States representative from Mississippi and permanent chairman of the convention	Jackson, Mississippi	Call to Order and Close of Order	[155][160]
	Gwen Moore	United States representative from Wisconsin	Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin		[79][155][160]
	Muriel Bowser	Mayor of the District of Columbia	Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C.		[155][160]
	Jim Clyburn	United States representative from South Carolina and House majority whip	Charleston, South Carolina		[155][160]
	Andrew Cuomo	Governor of New York	Albany, New York		[155][161][160]
	Kristin Urquiza		San Francisco, California		[155][160]
	Sara Gideon	Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and U.S. Senate nominee from Maine	Scarborough, Maine	Introduction to performance by Maggie Rogers	[155][160][162]
	Gretchen Whitmer	Governor of Michigan	UAW Local 603 in Lansing, Michigan		[155][160]
	Christine Todd Whitman	Former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and governor of New Jersey (Republican)	New York, New York		[155][160]
	Meg Whitman	Former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and Republican nominee for Governor of California in 2010	Sacramento, California		[155][160]
	Susan Molinari	Former United States representative from New York (Republican)	Sarasota, Florida		[155][160]
	John Kasich	Former governor of Ohio (Republican); candidate for the 2000 and 2016 Republican presidential nominations	Westerville, Ohio		[155][160][163]
	Doug Jones	United States senator from Alabama	Birmingham, Alabama		[155][160][164]
	Catherine Cortez Masto	United States senator from Nevada; Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee	Las Vegas, Nevada		[155][160][161]
	Amy Klobuchar	United States senator from Minnesota; candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination	Saint Paul, Minnesota		[155][160][165]
	Cedric Richmond	United States representative from Louisiana	New Orleans, Louisiana		[155][160]
	Bernie Sanders	United States senator from Vermont; candidate for the 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential nomination	Burlington, Vermont		[54][155][160]
	Michelle Obama	Former first lady of the United States	Personal residence in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts		[155][160][166]

Performances (in order of appearance)

• Leon Bridges performing "Sweetness"[158][155]
• Maggie Rogers performing "Back In My Body"[158][155]
• Billy Porter and Stephen Stills performing "For What It's Worth"[160][155]

Selected film segments

• "The Path Forward": A Conversation with Vice President Biden on Racial Justice (featuring Joe Biden, Houston police chief Art Acevedo, activist Jamira Burley, activist Gwen Carr, NAACP president Derrick Johnson, and Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot)[160][155]
• A Conversation with Healthcare Workers on the Front Lines (moderated by United States women's national soccer team member Megan Rapinoe)[155][160]
• "United We Stand" (featuring Kamala Harris and former 2020 Democratic presidential candidates United States senator Cory Booker, United States senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Governor of Washington Jay Inslee, United States senator Amy Klobuchar, United States representative Seth Moulton, former United States representative Beto O'Rourke, businessman Tom Steyer, and businessman Andrew Yang)

Democratic National Convention Pool Feeds
Night 2
from C-SPAN via YouTube[167]
from MSNBC via YouTube[168]
from PBS NewsHour via YouTube[169]
from Politico via YouTube[170]

Democratic National Convention Democratic Party Streams
Night 2
Official convention stream via YouTube[139]
Official ASL convention stream via YouTube[171]
Official spanish-language convention stream via YouTube[172]

The second night of the convention included official business, such as the nominating roll call for president.

9:00–11:00 p.m. EDT[158]

Emcee: Tracee Ellis Ross[159]

Theme

"Leadership Matters"[99]

Evening schedule

• Call to order by Mayor of Milwaukee Tom Barrett[139][173]
• Credentials Committee Report
  • James H. Roosevelt[139][173]
  • Lorraine Miller[139][173]
• Rules Committee Report
  • Barney Frank[139][173]
  • Maria Cardona[139][173]
• Platform Committee Report
  • Julie Chavez Rodriguez[139][173]
  • Denis McDonough[139][173]
• Keynote address[139][173]
• Main convention program (part 1)[139][173]
• Nominations and roll call[173]
• Main convention program (part 2)[173]

Select speakers (in order of appearance)

Speakers planned for 2nd evening (Tuesday) of 2020 convention

Speaker		Position/notability	Location	Notes	Cite
	Tom Barrett	Mayor of Milwaukee	Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Call to order	[79][139][173]
The keynote address was planned to feature seventeen of the Democratic Party's rising stars from across the country. The speakers were former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives Stacey Abrams; Tennessee state senator Raumesh Akbari; United States representative Colin Allred of Texas; United States representative Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania; Nevada state senator Yvanna Cancela; former Ohio state representative Kathleen Clyde; Florida commissioner of agriculture Nikki Fried; Mayor of Long Beach, California Robert Garcia; Pennsylvania state representative Malcolm Kenyatta; South Carolina state senator Marlon Kimpson; United States representative Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania, Michigan state representative Mari Manoogian; Texas state representative Victoria Neave; President of the Navajo Nation Jonathan Nez; Georgia state representative Sam Park; New Hampshire state representative Denny Ruprecht; Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, Randall Woodfin				Keynote address	[139][173][174]
	Tracee Ellis Ross	Actress	Los Angeles, California	Emcee	[139][173]
	Sally Yates	Former acting United States attorney general	Atlanta, Georgia		[139][173]
	Chuck Schumer	United States Senate minority leader	Brooklyn, New York		[139][173]
	Caroline Kennedy	Former ambassador to Japan and the daughter of former president John F. Kennedy		Joint remarks	[139][173]
	Jack Schlossberg	Grandson of John F. Kennedy			[139][173]
	Jimmy Carter	Former president of the United States		Joint remarks (voice only, no video appearance)	[173]
	Rosalynn Carter	Former first lady of the United States			[139][173]
	Bill Clinton	Former president of the United States	Chappaqua, New York		[139][167][173]
	Tom Perez	Chairman of the Democratic National Committee	Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin		[139][167][173]
	Bob King	Former president of the United Auto Workers	Ann Arbor, Michigan	Nominating speech for Bernie Sanders	[139][167][173]
	Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez	United States representative from New York	Washington, D.C.	Seconding speech for Bernie Sanders	[139][167][173]
	Jacquelyn Asbie	Security guard	New York City	Nominating speech for Joe Biden	[175][176][177]
	Chris Coons	United States senator from Delaware	Wilmington, Delaware	Seconding speech for Joe Biden	[139][167][173]
	Lisa Blunt Rochester	United States representative from Delaware	Wilmington, Delaware	Seconding speech for Joe Biden	[139][167][173]
	Ady Barkan	Activist			[139][173]
	Kevin Johnson	Former mayor of Sacramento	Los Angeles, California		[139][173][178]
	John Kerry	Former secretary of state and the party's 2004 presidential nominee	Boston, Massachusetts		[139][173][179]
	Colin Powell	Former United States secretary of state (Republican)	Washington, D.C.		[139][180]
	Jill Biden	Spouse of the presidential nominee and former second lady of the United States	Brandywine High School in Wilmington, Delaware		[139][173][181]

Select film segments

• The Biden Plan: Healthcare (narrated by Jeff Bridges)[182][139][173]
• A More Perfect Union: A Conversation on Healthcare (featuring Joe Biden, and health care activists Julie Buckholt, Steve Gomez, Jeff Jeans, Laura Packard, Angie Taylor)[183][139][173]
• The Biden Plan: National Security[139][173]
• An Unlikely Friendship (narrated in part by Cindy McCain, widow of the late Senator John McCain from Arizona)[139][184]
• Teacher[139][173]

Performances

• John Legend[173]

Democratic National Convention Pool Feeds
Night 3
from C-SPAN via YouTube[185]

Democratic National Convention Democratic Party Streams
Night 3
Official convention stream via YouTube[186]
Official ASL convention stream via YouTube[187]
Official spanish-language convention stream via YouTube[188]

9:00–11:00 p.m. EDT[158]

Emcee: Kerry Washington[159]

Theme

"A More Perfect Union"[99]

Sub-themes

• A More Perfect Society[189]
• A More Perfect Economy[189]

Evening schedule

• Introduction[186]
• Call to Order by convention chair Bennie Thompson
• Pledge of Allegiance[186]
• Main convention program[186]
• Vice-presidential nomination[73][190]
• Vice-presidential acceptance speech[186]

Select speakers (in order of appearance)

Speakers planned for 3rd evening (Wednesday) of 2020 convention

Speaker		Position/notability	Location	Notes	Cite
	Tony Evers	Governor of Wisconsin	Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin		[79][186][189]
	Kamala Harris	Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States, United States senator from California	Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware	Welcoming remarks	[186][105]
	Kerry Washington	Actress	Los Angeles, California	Emcee	[159][186][189]
	Gabrielle Giffords	Former United States representative from Arizona and a prominent gun control advocate			[186][189]
	Michelle Lujan Grisham	Governor of New Mexico	Albuquerque, New Mexico		[186][189]
	Hillary Clinton	Former United States secretary of state and the party's 2016 presidential nominee	Chappaqua, New York		[186][189]
	Nancy Pelosi	Speaker of the United States House of Representatives	San Francisco, California		[186][189]
	Mariska Hargitay	Actress and philanthropist	New York City, New York		[186][189]
	Hilda Solis	Member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and former United States secretary of labor	Los Angeles, California		[186][189]
	Elizabeth Warren	United States senator from Massachusetts; candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination	Springfield, Massachusetts		[186][189]
	Barack Obama	Former president of the United States	Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania		[186][189][191]
	Maya Harris	Younger sister of the vice presidential nominee		Nominating speech for Kamala Harris	[186][189]
	Meena Harris	Niece of the vice presidential nominee
	Ella Emhoff	Stepdaughter of the vice presidential nominee
	Kamala Harris	Democratic nominee for vice president of the United States, United States senator from California	Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware	Vice-presidential nomination acceptance speech	[189][105]

Select film segments

• America Rising: March for Our Lives (featuring Emma González)[189]
• The Biden Plan: Climate Change[186][189]
• A Conversation with Young Climate Activists[186][189]
• A Letter to Trump on Immigration[186][189]
• America Rising: Immigrants Rebuilding America[186][189]
• America Rising: From Women's Suffrage to the Women's March[186][189]
• When You See Something Wrong[186][189]
• America Recovering (featuring United States senator from Ohio Sherrod Brown, Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti, and United States congresswoman from Iowa Cindy Axne)

Performances

• Billie Eilish performing "My Future"[186][189]
• Prince Royce performing "Stand by Me"[186][189]
• Jennifer Hudson performing "A Change Is Gonna Come"[186][189]

Democratic National Convention Pool Feeds
Night 4
from C-SPAN via YouTube[192]

Democratic National Convention Democratic Party Streams
Night 4
Official convention stream via YouTube[193]
Official ASL convention stream via YouTube[194]
Official spanish-language convention stream via YouTube[195]

9:00–11:00 p.m. EDT[158]

Emcee: Julia Louis-Dreyfus[159]

Theme

"America's Promise"[99]

Evening schedule

• Call to Order by convention chair Bennie Thompson
• Remarks by Andrew Yang[193][196]
• Introduction by Julia Louis Dreyfus[193][196]
• Pledge of Allegiance[193][196]
• National anthem ("The Star-Spangled Banner") performed by The Chicks[193][196]
• Invocation by Sister Simone Campbell[193]
• Main convention program[193][196]
• Presidential acceptance speech[193][196]
• Fireworks display[193]
• Benediction[193]
• Adjournment by convention chair Bennie Thompson

Select speakers (in order of appearance)

Speaker		Position/notability	Location	Notes	Cite
	Tom Perez	Chairman of the Democratic National Committee	Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin		[139]
	Gavin Newsom	Governor of California	Santa Cruz County, California[197]		[193][198]
	Andrew Yang	Entrepreneur; Founder of Venture for America; candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination	New York City, New York		[193][196]
	Julia Louis-Dreyfus	Actress	Los Angeles, California	Emcee	[193][159][196]
	Chris Coons	United States senator from Delaware	Wilmington, Delaware		[139][196]
	Keisha Lance Bottoms	Mayor of Atlanta	Atlanta, Georgia		[139][196]
	Jon Meacham	Author	Nashville, Tennessee		[139][196]
	Deb Haaland	United States representative from New Mexico	Albuquerque, New Mexico		[139][196]
	Sarah Cooper	Author and comedian			[139]
	Alex Padilla	California secretary of state		Joint remarks	[139][196]
	Jocelyn Benson	Michigan secretary of state
	Cory Booker	United States senator from New Jersey; candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination	New York City, New York		[139][196]
	Vivek Murthy	Former Surgeon General of the United States	Miami, Florida		[139][196]
	Tammy Baldwin	United States senator from Wisconsin	Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin		[79][139][196]
	Tammy Duckworth	United States senator from Illinois	Washington, D.C.		[139][196]
	Pete Buttigieg	Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana; candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination	South Bend, Indiana		[139][196]
	Michael Bloomberg	Former mayor of New York City; candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination	Colorado		[139][196][199]
	Brayden Harrington				[139]
	Ashley Biden	Daughter of the presidential nominee			[139][196]
	Hunter Biden	Son of the presidential nominee
	Joe Biden	Nominee for president of the United States, former vice president of the United States	Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware	Presidential nomination acceptance speech	[105][196]

Select film segments

• A Tribute to John Lewis (directed by Dawn Porter; featuring former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives Stacey Abrams; deceased former United States representative Elijah Cummings; United States Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; Reverend Raphael Warnock, former ambassador Andrew Young)[193][196]
• "You Built America": A Conversation on the Economy with Vice President Biden[193][196]
• The Biden Plan: Military Families (featuring Jill Biden)[193][196]
• A Tribute to Beau Biden[196]
• This Time Next Year (featuring activist Ady Barkan; Nevada senator Yvanna Cancela; Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota Peggy Flanagan; United States representative Marcia Fudge; Mayor of Long Beach, California, Robert Garcia; activist Fred Guttenberg; United States senator Kamala Harris; United States Senate candidate Jaime Harrison; Harris County, Texas, judge Lina Hidalgo; activist Dolores Huerta; activist Donna Hylton; United States senator Doug Jones; lawyer Khizr Khan; actor Daniel Dae Kim; United States senator Amy Klobuchar; author John Meacham; former United States representative Susan Molinari; former United States secretary of state Colin Powell; United States representative Beto O'Rourke; Virginia state delegate Danica Roem; lawyer James H. Roosevelt; General Francis D. Vavala; United States senator Elizabeth Warren; businessman Andrew Yang)[193][196]
• United We Stand (featuring former 2020 Democratic presidential candidates United States senator Cory Booker, former mayor of South Bend Pete Buttigieg, United States senator Amy Klobuchar, former United States representative Beto O'Rourke, United States senator Bernie Sanders, United States senator Elizabeth Warren, and businessman Andrew Yang)[193][196]
• The Biden Grandchildren[193][196]
• Keeping the Faith w/ The Currys (featuring Stephen Curry and his family)[193]
• Biden Introduction[196]

Select performances

• The Chicks performing "The Star-Spangled Banner"[193][196]
• John Legend and Common performing "Glory"[196]

In the past, hundreds of people had addressed each convention, giving many local or statewide candidates a valuable photo op, a notable difference from this convention. Some of the speeches at this convention were pre-recorded.[200]

The convention included performances by Leon Bridges, the Chicks, Common, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Billy Porter, Maggie Rogers, Prince Royce, Stephen Stills, and others.[201]

A number of speakers at the convention included individuals who are everyday Americans, rather than officeholders or celebrities.[133][202] A number of these speakers were dissatisfied Republicans, including individuals who had voted for Trump in 2016, but plan on voting for Biden in 2020.[133][203]

Caucus meetings and other events were streamed on various platforms earlier on the days of the convention.[158] Virtual policy roundtables were hosted in partnership with Business Forward.[204] Many partner organization events were planned to be held, including a Protect Our Care health care panel with Nancy Pelosi, Xavier Becerra, Kathleen Sebelius, and three of the five health care activists featured in a conversation with Joe Biden on Night 2 of the convention.[205]

Before the convention opened, an Interfaith Welcome Service was held virtually on August 16, a partner event to the DNC.[206]

Before the official convention broadcast started, each night there was an official pre-show.[158]

The first night featured a single pre-show program, the live special Behind The Rhyme presents Your Voice Your Vote.[158] It was to be streamed exclusively on Twitch.[158]

The second night featured a single pre-show program, the live special Behind The Rhyme presents Your Voice Your Vote.[158] It was to be streamed exclusively on Twitch.[158]

The third-night featured two pre-show programs.[158] The first, running from 7:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. EDT, was scheduled to be the Democratic Governors Association-hosted panel "Bold Leadership: Women Governors Leading". The panel featured Oregon governor Kate Brown, Kansas governor Laura Kelly, New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Maine governor Janet Mills and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, and was be moderated by Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo.[158] The second program, beginning at 8:00 p.m. EDT, was be the live special Behind The Rhyme presents Your Voice Your Vote. It was streamed exclusively on Twitch.[158]

The fourth night was to feature three pre-show programs. The first, running from 7 to 8 p.m. EDT was to be the Democratic Governors Association-hosted panel entitled "#DemGovsGetItDone: Progress in Red & Purple States". This panel featured Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, Wisconsin governor Tony Evers, and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, and would be moderated by Stacey Abrams.[158] Two official pre-show events were to be hosted beginning at 8 p.m. EDT. The first was planned to be the live special Behind The Rhyme presents Your Voice Your Vote, streamed exclusively on Twitch.[158] The second was to be the live special "Crooked Media presents Pod Save America Live from the Democratic National Couch-vention!", featuring Pod Save America hosts Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor, and Daniel Pfeiffer.[158] The Pod Save America program was planned to include the world premiere of the documentary short "Dress Rehearsal".[158]

There was an official post-show edition of Behind The Rhyme presents Your Voice Your Vote each night of the convention streamed exclusively on Twitch. Each of these included panels followed by a set by a DJ. The first night's DJ was Beverly Bond, the second night's was Vashtie, the third night's was DJ Cassidy, and the fourth night's was Jermaine Dupri.[158]

How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole. With love and understanding – and with small acts of kindness. With bravery. With unwavering faith.

— Jill Biden at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[207]

Jill Biden, the spouse of presidential nominee Joe Biden and the former second lady of the United States, delivered her speech on the second night of the convention from the classroom at Brandywine High School in Wilmington, Delaware, where she had been an English teacher from 1991 through 1993.

Biden's speech was focused on both family and education. She discussed how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic had impacted education, as well as families and the economy. She touted her husband as a candidate capable of tackling the pandemic.

Biden also recounted the personal tragedies that her husband had endured, including the deaths of his first wife, Neilia, and first-born daughter, Naomi, in a 1972 automobile accident, and the 2015 death of his son Beau from brain cancer.[208]

Here and now I give you my word. If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness. It's time for us, for we, the people, to come together. And make no mistake. United we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America.

— Joe Biden at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[209]

Joe Biden, the 2020 Democratic nominee for president, delivered a speech on the fourth night of the convention from Wilmington, Delaware. A common motif emphasized throughout was the conflict between light, referring to himself, and darkness, referring to Donald Trump.[210]

Biden began his speech by quoting Ella Baker.[209] Biden pledged to be a president for all Americans, regardless of whether or not they voted for him.[209]

Biden referenced the killing of George Floyd in his speech.[209]

While drawing a contrast between himself and Trump, Biden's speech did not include any utterances of his main opponent's name.[211]

The two people running for president couldn't be more different. One believes in facts. One does not. One listens to experts. The other thinks he knows everything. One looks forward and sees strength in America's diversity. The other looks backwards and sees immigrants as enemies and white supremacists as allies. Here's another difference. One has proven he knows how to handle a crisis by helping to lead the economic turnaround after the 2008 recession, while the other has not only failed to lead, he has made the current crisis much worse.

— Michael Bloomberg at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[212]

Former mayor of New York City and candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination Michael Bloomberg delivered his speech on the final night of the convention from Colorado.[199]

Bloomberg laid contrast between incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and Biden.[212]

Bloomberg declared, "I'm not asking you to vote against Donald Trump because he's a bad guy. I'm urging you to vote against him because he's done a bad job."[212]

Bloomberg likened the prospect reelecting Trump to rehiring or working for, "someone who ran your business into the ground, and who always does what's best for him or her, even when it hurts the company, and whose reckless decisions put you in danger".[212]

I trust Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to guide this nation toward that better future, because I have seen their commitment, and their empathy, up close. And I trust the capacity of America to grow more inclusive, because I have lived it.

— Pete Buttigieg at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[213]

Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination Pete Buttigieg delivered his speech on the final night of the convention from LangLab South Bend, Indiana, where he and his husband, Chasten, had held their wedding reception years earlier.[214]

Buttigieg, himself openly homosexual, highlighted the progress that the United States had made on LGBT rights during his lifetime, pointing to his marriage (enabled by the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision) and the viability of his candidacy as an openly gay candidate for the presidency as two examples of such progress.[213][214] He also mentioned how, earlier in his life, when he served in the military, the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy (since repealed in 2011 under the Obama administration) had barred him from being open about his sexuality while in service.[213]

Our party is united in offering you a very different choice: a go-to-work president. A down-to-earth, get-the-job-done guy. A man with a mission: to take responsibility, not shift the blame; concentrate, not distract; unite, not divide. Our choice is Joe Biden.

— Bill Clinton at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[215]

Former president of the United States Bill Clinton delivered his speech on the second night of the convention from Chappaqua, New York.[139]

Clinton began his speech by declaring that he believed United States presidential elections to be, "the world's most important job interview".[215]

Clinton lambasted President Donald Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[215]

Clinton praised Biden's work in the Obama administration on repairing the United States economy from the Great Recession.[215] He praised Biden's plans to rebuild the United States economy from the downturn it experienced amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[215]

He argued that Biden should be elected and that Trump should be denied a second term, declaring, "You know what Donald Trump will do with four more years: blame, bully, and belittle. And you know what Joe Biden will do: build back better."[215]

For four years, people have said to me, 'I didn't realize how dangerous (Trump) was,' 'I wish I could go back and do it over,' 'I should have voted.' This can't be another woulda-coulda-shoulda election. If you're voting by mail, request your ballot now, and send it back as soon as you can. If you vote in person, do it early. Bring a friend and wear a mask. Become a poll worker...Remember, Joe and Kamala can win 3 million more votes and still lose. Take it from me. We need numbers so overwhelming Trump can't sneak or steal his way to victory.

— Hillary Clinton at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[216]

Former United States secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton delivered her speech on the third night of the convention from Chappaqua, New York.[186]

Clinton praised Biden and Harris as, "leaders equal to this moment".[216] She praised Biden's "thoughtfulness and empathy".[216] She praised Harris as a, "daughter of an extraordinary mother," as well as, "relentless in the pursuit of justice, and uncommonly kind."[216]

Clinton, herself a former First Lady of the United States, expressed joy towards Jill Biden's intentions to continue her work as an educator if she becomes First Lady.[216]

Clinton urged voters not to repeat the result of the 2016 election in which Trump had defeated her in the United States Electoral College, thus winning the presidency.[216]

Clinton criticized Trump's presidency, saying, "Remember in 2016 when Trump asked 'What do you have to lose?' Well, now we know. Our health, our jobs, even our lives. Our leadership in the world and, yes, our post office."[216]

Clinton stated that she believes that it is morally wrong that the richest Americans saw their wealth increase during the pandemic while tens of millions of other Americans lost.[216]

Clinton declared, reiterating an African proverb she had helped popularize in the United States, that "it still takes a village". Her speech invoked DREAMers, and reiterated support for Black Lives Matter, while invoking the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery.[216]

Clinton invoked the struggle for voting rights in the United States. She mentioned that the previous day had marked the centennial of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which granted nationwide women's suffrage.[216] She also invoked John Lewis' participation in the Selma to Montgomery marches fighting against racial injustice including the disenfranchisement of black voters.[216]

Americans' eyes have been opened, and we have seen in this crisis the truth: that government matters and leadership matters.

— Andrew Cuomo at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[217]

Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo delivered his speech on the opening night of the convention from Albany, New York.[161]

While referencing a number of issues that plagued the nation, Cuomo's speech primarily focused on criticizing President Donald Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[217][218]

Cuomo also declared that, "Only a strong body can fight off the virus, and America's divisions weakened it."[217]

Brayden Harrington spoke on the convention's closing night.[139][219] Harrington, a 13-year-old boy who stutters, spoke about how, on the campaign trail during the primaries, Joe Biden had related to him about his struggles overcoming a stutter of his own, and had shared advice for how to persevere through such an impediment.[139][219]

Harrington's speech attracted significant attention, being seen as one of the highlights of the convention's final night.[219]

Joe and I believe that we can build that beloved community, one that is strong and decent, just and kind. One in which we all can see ourselves...I pledge to you that we will act boldly and deal with our challenges honestly. We will speak truths. And we will act with the same faith in you that we ask you to place in us.

— Kamala Harris at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[220]

In her vice-presidential nomination acceptance speech on the third night of the convention, Kamala Harris declared that she and Biden will, if elected, tackle issues facing the United States, including racial injustices.[220] Harris provided an autobiographical summary of her life and career.[220]

Joe Biden is a man for our times, times that call for all of us to take off our partisan hats and put our nation first.

— John Kasich at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[221]

Republican former governor of Ohio and 2000 and 2016 Republican presidential candidate John Kasich delivered remarks on the opening night of the convention in a pre-recorded video filmed at a road junction near his personal residence in Westerville, Ohio.[222]

Kasich began his speech by declaring that, "America is at a crossroads."[221] While calling himself a, "lifelong Republican", he declared that this came second to his sense of responsibility to the United States, which had compelled him to appear at the convention.[221]

Building on the opening metaphor of America being at a crossroads, as well as the visual metaphor of the speech's physical location at the divergence of two paths, in his closing, Kasich declared that, "When America chooses the right path and pulls together, like we've done so many times before, we can dream big dreams and we can see the top of the mountain as a United States of America, with a soul that is a beacon of freedom to the entire world"[221]

Donald Trump pretends Russia didn't attack our elections. And now, he does nothing about Russia putting a bounty on our troops. So, he won't defend our country, he doesn't know how to defend our troops. The only person he's interested in defending is himself.

— John Kerry at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[179][207]

On the opening night of the convention, former United States secretary of state and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry delivered a speech in Boston, Massachusetts, which heavily criticized Donald Trump's approach foreign policy, characterizing it as a nonstop "blooper reel".[179][223]

Kerry criticized Trump for denying the existence of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, and for what Kerry charged was Trump's failure to protect United States troops from the alleged Russian bounty program.[224]

Any chance of success depends entirely on the outcome of this election. This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that's what it takes to win. So we have to get busy building it up -- by pouring all our effort into these 76 days, and by voting like never before -- for Joe and Kamala, and candidates up and down the ticket, so that we leave no doubt about what this country we love stands for -- today and for all our days to come.

— Barack Obama at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[225]

Former United States president Barack Obama delivered his speech on the third night of the convention from the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[191]

During his speech, Obama broke with the customary practice of not criticizing his presidential successor by name.[226]

In his remarks, Obama declared, "Donald Trump hasn't grown into the job because he can't. And the consequences of that failure are severe. 170,000 Americans dead. Millions of jobs gone while those at the top take in more than ever. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before."[225]

Whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy...Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.

— Michelle Obama at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[227]

Former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama delivered her speech on the opening night of the convention from her personal residence in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.[166]

Obama reaffirmed her conviction in the motto she expressed during her 2016 convention speech, "when they go low, we go high".[227][228]

Obama declared her belief that, "being president doesn't change who you are; it reveals who you are."[227]

Obama touted what she felt were some the successes of her husband's presidency and Joe Biden's vice presidency, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, respect for the United States from the international community, and steps made internationally to address climate change.[227] She contrasted these with what she felt were some of the failures of the Trump presidency. She characterized the United States under Trump's leadership as, "underperforming not simply on matters of policy, but on matters of character."[227] One failure she charged Trump with was the United States' death toll and domestic economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic, for which she faulted Trump's downplaying of the severity of the virus.[227] Another aspect of the Trump presidency she criticized was its reneging on international agreements and its betrayal of alliances that had been championed by past presidents, including Republicans Ronald Reagan and Dwight D. Eisenhower.[227] She also criticized what she regarded to be Trump's emboldening of "torch-bearing white supremacists" seen at the Unite the Right rally.[227] Obama further criticized Trump's derision of the political catchphrase and movement Black Lives Matter.[227]

After declaring Trump an unfit president, Obama remarked, "it is what it is", echoing words that Trump had recently used about the COVID-19 death toll.[228]

Obama directly invoked the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, both of whom had been killed by law enforcement earlier in 2020, and whose deaths had become central flash points of ongoing protests and unrest that are considered part of the Black Lives Matter movement.[227]

Obama touted the virtues of Biden's character, declaring him a "profoundly decent man," that, "knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic, and lead our country."[227][228] She recounted the personal tragedies that he had endured, including the deaths of his first wife, Neilia, and first-born daughter, Naomi, in a 1972 automobile accident, and the 2015 death of his son Beau from brain cancer, declaring that Biden's "life is a testament to getting back up, and he is going to channel that same grit and passion to pick us all up, to help us heal and guide us forward".[227]

Obama warned of potential voter suppression in the 2020 election, and urged citizens to collectively cast their votes for Biden, "in numbers that cannot be ignored".[228]

In the penultimate sentences of her speech, she quoted John Lewis as saying, "When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something."[227]

We will elect President Biden, whose heart is full of love for America, and rid the country of Trump's heartless disregard for America's goodness...Our mission and our pledge is to fight for a future equal to the ideals of our founders, our hopes for our children, and the sacrifices of our veterans, our brave men and women in uniform and their families.

— Nancy Pelosi at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[229]

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi delivered her speech on the third night of the convention from San Francisco, California.[186]

Pelosi began her speech by expressing her pride in the diversity of the Democratic majority she leads in the United States House of Representatives.[229]

In her remarks Pelosi painted President Donald Trump and Republican United States Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell as dual obstacles to progress.[230]

Pelosi praised Biden as, "battle-tested, forward-looking, honest and authentic" and Harris as, "committed to our Constitution, brilliant in defending it".[229]

Our country needs a commander in chief who takes care of our troops in the same way he would his own family...Joe Biden will be a president we will all be proud to salute. With Joe Biden in the White House, you will never doubt that he will stand with our friends and stand up to our adversaries...On day one he will restore America's leadership and our moral authority.

— Colin Powell at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[231]

Republican former United States secretary of state Colin Powell delivered his speech on the second night of the convention from Washington, D.C..[180]

Powell opened his speech by briefly recounting the stories of how each of his parents immigrated to the United States from Jamaica.[231]

Powell extolled Biden for having morally strong defining values.[231]

Powell praised the sort of leadership he argued that Biden would bring to the United States as president.[231] He argued Biden would, "restore America's leadership in the world and restore the alliances we need to address the dangers that threaten our nation, from climate change to nuclear proliferation."[231]

He described the United States as "a country divided", and argued that President Trump is, "doing everything in his power to keep up that way", arguing that Biden would be a unifier as president.[231]

We have a president who is not only incapable of addressing these crises but is leading us down the path of authoritarianism...This election is the most important in the modern history of this country. In response to the unprecedented crises we face, we need an unprecedented response—a movement, like never before, of people who are prepared to stand up and fight for democracy and decency—and against greed, oligarchy, and bigotry. And we need Joe Biden as our next president.

— Bernie Sanders at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[232]

United States senator from Vermont and candidate for the 2016 and 2020 Democratic nominations Bernie Sanders spoke from Burlington, Vermont, on the opening night of the convention.[54][233]

In his speech, Sanders urged his supporters to lend their support to Biden in order to oust Donald Trump.[232][233] He conceded that, while he and Biden disagree on the specifics their plans to expand healthcare coverage and lower prescription drug costs, Biden still has a plan that greatly accomplish this.[232][233] He also touted other issues for which Biden has plans.[232]

America, Donald Trump has quit on you. We need a president with dignity, integrity, and the experience to lead us out of this crisis, a man with a steady hand and a big heart who will never—ever—quit on America: that man is my friend Joe Biden. He will be a great president.

— Chuck Schumer at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[234]

United States Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer delivered his speech on the second night of the convention from the New York City, New York, borough of Brooklyn, with the Statue of Liberty in the background.[139][234]

Schumer invoked the memory of immigrants, such as his grandparents, who were greeted by the Statue of Liberty upon their arrival in the United States.[234]

Schumer argued that America will benefit from both electing the ticket of Biden and Harris, as well as from flipping control of the United States Senate from Republican to Democratic.[234]

On the opening night of the convention, Kristin Urquiza, who had lost her father Mark Urquiza to COVID-19, gave a speech, in which she said that her father, who believed Donald Trump and other Republicans that Urquiza blamed for downplaying the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, had disregarded his safety and went to a karaoke bar with friends, where he possibly contracted the disease he succumbed to.[235][236][237]

Urquiza criticized Trump for "dishonesty" and "irresponsible actions", which she faulted with worsening the pandemic.[235][236]

Urquiza also said that one of the last things her father, who she said voted for Trump in 2016, had told her before dying was that he "felt betrayed by the likes of Donald Trump", and that she therefore planned to cast her 2020 vote for Joe Biden in honor of her father.[235][237]

Urquiza's speech was regarded by pundits to be one of the highlights of the convention's opening night.[238]

We build infrastructure like roads, bridges and communications systems so that people can work...It's time to recognize that childcare is part of the basic infrastructure of this nation—it's infrastructure for families. Joe and Kamala will make high-quality child care affordable for every family, make preschool universal, and raise the wages for every child care worker.

— Elizabeth Warren at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[239]

United States senator from Massachusetts and candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination Elizabeth Warren delivered her speech on the third night of the convention from a classroom located in a Springfield, Massachusetts, early learning center that was temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[240] Warren's speech centered on the importance of passing legislation to provide universal child care.[241]

It's crucial that we rally together to fight this virus and build our economy back better...With Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House, we will.

— Gretchen Whitmer at the 2020 Democratic National Convention[242]

Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer delivered her speech on the opening night of the convention from UAW Local 603 in Lansing, Michigan.[155]

Whitmer began by praising Barack Obama and Joe Biden's actions to rescue the auto industry amid its 2008–10 crisis.[242] Whitmer then transitioned into discussing both the Michigan and national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.[242] She argued that Biden and Harris would provide the leadership needed to address the pandemic.[242]

In addition to coverage by broadcasters, there is a stream broadcast by the DNC itself on fifteen platforms. These platforms are the convention's website, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, Amazon Prime Video, Microsoft Bing, Apple TV, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, AT&T U-verse, DirectTV, Comcast Xfinity X1, Comcast Xfinity Flex, and Amazon Alexa.[64][76][259][268]

In addition, the Biden campaign scheduled numerous virtual watch parties during the convention which showed a stream of the convention, with a number of them being hosted by prominent politicians and celebrities.[269][270] Some outdoor socially-distanced watch parties were hosted by Democratic Party organizations, such as one for Connecticut convention delegates to attend at Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford.[271] There were additionally drive-in watch parties held by Democratic Party organizers, including one right outside the Chase Center on the Riverfront on the night Biden accepted his nomination there.[54][272][273][274][275]

According to Nielsen, the Democratic National Convention averaged 21.6 million views across all traditional cable and television networks across all four nights.[276] This is composed of 19.7 million viewers on night 1, 19.2 million viewers on night 2, 22.8 million viewers on night 3, 24.6 million viewers on night 4.

These numbers do not include viewers on livestream.

Night one of the Democratic convention had 19.7 million viewers across all cable and television networks tracked by Nielsen. The first night of the Republican convention had 17.0 million viewers across the same networks.[277]

Night one of the Democratic convention had 18.8 million viewers across six major, traditional television (NBC, CBS, ABC) and cable networks (FNC, CNN, MSNBC) tracked by Nielsen. The first night of the Republican convention had 15.9 million viewers across the same six networks.[277]

The viewership for the first night of the convention was down by 25% compared to the equivalent night in 2016.[278]

Compared to 2016, the only network that saw a rise in viewership for Night 1 was MSNBC.

Night two of the Democratic convention had 19.2 million viewers across all television networks tracked by Nielsen. The second night of the Republican convention had 19.4 million viewers across the same networks.[280]

Night two of the Democratic convention had 18.5 million viewers across six major, traditional television and cable networks tracked by Nielsen. The second night of the Republican convention had 18 million viewers across the same six networks. These numbers do not include viewers on streaming services.[281]

Compared to 2016, the only network that saw a rise in viewership for Night 2 was MSNBC.

Night three of the Democratic convention had 22.8 million viewers across all television networks tracked by Nielsen. The third night of the Republican convention had 17.3 million viewers across the same networks.[282]

Night three of the Democratic convention had 21.5 million viewers across six major, traditional television and cable networks tracked by Nielsen.[283]

Compared to 2016, the only network that saw a rise in viewership for Night 3 was MSNBC.

Night four of the Democratic convention had 24.6 million viewers across all television networks tracked by Nielsen.[284]

Compared to 2016, the only network that saw a rise in viewership for Night 4 was MSNBC.

Compared to Night 3 of 2020, the only networks that saw a rise in viewership for Night 4 were Fox News Channel and ABC.

The first polls conducted after the Democratic National Convention showed no convention bounce for Biden.[285][287] Later polling, conducted after the Republican National Convention concluded the following week, indicated that there had been virtually no convention bounce for either party coming out of August conventions held in back-to-back weeks.[288][289][290]

Ahead of, and during, the conventions, various outlets had speculated that significant convention bounces were unlikely for either party.[291][292][287][293] This was due to several cited factors. One was that it had been observed that convention bounces had been more minuscule in recent elections. Per some calculations, convention bounces had averaged just 2 points since 2004, compared to just under 7 points between 1968 and 2000.[291] Per other calculations, average bounces since 1996 averaged 3.6 points, while bounces between 1962 and 1992 averaged 6.3 points.[287] Another factor cited for why it was seen as unlikely for either party to generate a significant convention bounce in 2020 was that polls in the 2020 race had, in the months prior to the convention, shown a remarkably steady race, with Biden consistently holding an approximately 6-point er exceeding an average lead of 10 points and never slipping below a lead of 4 points. It has been shown that more stable races tend to see smaller convention bounces.[291][293] Another was that the conventions, having been scaled-back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were seen as less likely to generate as much attention as past conventions had, particularly due to the decrease in television viewership .[291][292] Another was that the electorate was already strongly opinionated on the candidates, with more voters holding a strong opinion on Trump than any incumbent since at least 1980, and more voters holding a strong opinion on Biden than any challenger to an incumbent since at least 1980.[291] Races where voters hold strong opinions on the candidates tend to see smaller convention bounces.[291] Strong partisanship among the electorate was another cited factor.[293]

The Democrats were also seen as having factors which the Republican convention did not that might hamper its chances at a convention bump. One was the fact that the Republicans would hold their convention immediately following them.[285] Additionally, the fact that Biden already had a large lead among independents heading into the convention, possibly made Biden particularly unlikely to experience a convention bounce, as some speculated that Biden may have already been near his likely ceiling of support.[287][294]

While his electoral poll numbers may not have received a bounce, some polling showed Biden to have received a boost in favorability ratings.[295][296]