2020 Kentucky Democratic presidential primary
The 2020 Kentucky Democratic presidential primary took place on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. The primary was originally planned to take place on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. However, on March 16, 2020, Governor Andy Beshear and Secretary of State Michael Adams announced that it would be postponed amid concerns about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[1] The delay would have resulted in Kentucky losing half of its delegates, as the primary date is "past a June 9 deadline set by the Democratic National Committee",[2] but there will be no penalty as the 2020 Democratic National Convention was delayed until August.[3] The Kentucky primary is a closed primary, with the state awarding 60 delegates, of which 54 are pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.
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60 delegates (54 pledged, 6 unpledged) to the Democratic National Convention | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Election results by county
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| Elections in Kentucky |
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 Government |
The Associated Press (AP) declared that Joe Biden won the Kentucky Democratic presidential primary.[4]
Procedure
Kentucky held its primary on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Before being postponed amid concerns regarding the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Kentucky was one of two states voting on May 19, 2020 in the Democratic primaries, the other contest being the Oregon primary.[5]
The polls were officially scheduled to be open from 6:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. local time. In the closed primary, candidates must meet a threshold of 15 percent at the congressional district or statewide level in order to be considered viable. The 54 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention were allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the primary. Of the 54 pledged delegates, between 3 and 8 are allocated to each of the state's 6 congressional districts and another 6 are allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 10 at-large pledged delegates. These delegate totals do not account for pledged delegate bonuses or penalties from timing or clustering.[6]
Polling places
Kentucky state elections officials cut the number of in-person polling places just under 3,700 to 170, including one each in Kentucky's two most populous counties, Jefferson and Fayette, the homes of Louisville and Lexington. These changes reflect a dramatic expansion of voting by mail and early voting, as well as a reduction of risks related to COVID-19.[7] This led to accusations of voter suppression targeting especially African-Americans, mostly but not totally from Democrats.[8]
Results
| Candidate | Votes | % | Delegates[10] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Biden | 365,284 | 67.91% | 52 |
| Bernie Sanders (suspended) | 65,055 | 12.09% | |
| Uncommitted | 58,364 | 10.85% | 2 |
| Elizabeth Warren (withdrawn) | 15,300 | 2.84% | |
| Pete Buttigieg (withdrawn) | 9,127 | 1.70% | |
| Andrew Yang (withdrawn) | 7,267 | 1.35% | |
| Tulsi Gabbard (withdrawn) | 5,859 | 1.09% | |
| Amy Klobuchar (withdrawn) | 5,296 | 0.98% | |
| Tom Steyer (withdrawn) | 2,656 | 0.49% | |
| Michael Bennet (withdrawn) | 2,514 | 0.47% | |
| Deval Patrick (withdrawn) | 1,183 | 0.22% | |
| Total | 537,905 | 100% | 54 |
References
- "Ohio And Kentucky Move To Postpone Primaries Amid Coronavirus Outbreak". NPR. March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- Nick Corasaniti; Stephanie Saul (March 17, 2020). "2020 Democratic Primary Election: Voting Postponed in 5 States Because of Virus". The New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- Matt Friedman (April 8, 2020). "Murphy officially delays New Jersey primary to July 7: 'I don't want a Wisconsin'". Politico. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- "McConnell, GOP congressmen win Kentucky primaries". AP NEWS. 23 June 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- Putnam, Josh. "The 2020 Presidential Primary Calendar". Frontloading HQ. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- "Kentucky Democratic Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. May 5, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- Jacobson, Louis (June 23, 2020). "What's happening with polling places in Kentucky?". PolitiFact. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- Merica, Dan; Bradner, Eric; Zeleny, Jeff (June 22, 2020). "Kentucky braces for chaotic primary election after cuts to polling locations". CNN.
- "Official 2020 PRIMARY ELECTION Results" (PDF). Commonwealth of Kentucky Secretary of State. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
- "Delegate Tracker". interactives.ap.org. Associated Press. Retrieved June 23, 2020.