Guide to the 2020 Presidential Primaries
Who is running? The field of candidates began with 24 Democrats and 2 Republicans and has grown and shrunk. Find out who they are. Find links to candidate websites here. Find current polling numbers here.
When are the Primary Elections? Utah’s Presidential Primary Elections will be held on “Super Tuesday” on March 3, 2020. The Democratic and Republican Primaries will be held on the same day in Utah. Presidential Primaries and Caucuses in other states will be held from Feb 3 through June 16th, though a large number of states will also hold their primaries on Super Tuesday. See the Primary Election Schedule here.
Who can vote? All registered voters in Utah may cast a ballot, though each voter must choose either a Democratic or Republican ballot, and may not vote in both parties’ primaries. Only voters who are affiliated as a Republican or who declare at the polls may vote in a Republican primary, should there be one. Any registered voter may cast a ballot in the Democratic primary. Be sure to register to vote at least 30 days in advance in person or 7 days in advance online or by text! How to register to vote.
Debates
Upcoming Democratic Presidential Debates
The Democratic National Convention sets the rules and schedule for Democratic Presidential Debates, with a plan to host up to 12 debates between 2019 and 2020. See below for recaps on earlier debates in the series.
- Fifth Democratic Presidential Debate, November 20, 2019 – Hosted by MSNBC/Washington Post in Atlanta, Georgia
- December – Details TBD
- January – Details TBD
- January/February – Details TBD
- February – Details TBD
- February – Details TBD
- March – Details TBD
- April – Details TBD
Presidential Debates
The Commission on Presidential Debates will host three Presidential Debates.
- First presidential debate, Tuesday, September 29, 2020 – University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
- Second presidential debate, Thursday, October 15, 2020 – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- Third presidential debate, Thursday, October 22, 2020 – Belmont University, Nashville, TN
Vice Presidential Debate
The Commission on Presidential Debates will host one Vice Presidential Debate right here in Utah!
- Vice Presidential Debate, October 7, 2020 – Hosted by University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT
Debate Tickets
US Presidential Election News has a great description on how to get tickets to attend events in person. Check back for more ticket updates frequently as more debate information becomes available.
Debate Recaps
Fourth Democratic Presidential Debate (Oct 15, 2019 – Hosted by CNN/NY Times in Westerville, OH)
- Washington Post: What you missed while not watching last night’s Democratic presidential debate
- CNN: 7 Takeaways from the CNN/NY Times Democratic presidential debate
Third Democratic Presidential Debate (Sept 12, 2019 – Hosted by ABC in Houston, Texas)
- CBS News: Democrats clash on healthcare and immigration in third debate
- NY Times: 6 Takeaways from the September Democratic Debate
Second Democratic Presidential Debates (July 30-31, 2019 – Hosted by CNN in Michigan)
- NY Times: Who Won Night 1 of the Democratic Debate: Experts Weigh In
- Vox: 4 winners and 3 losers from the second night of the July Democratic debates
- Fox News: Doug Schoen: Second Democractic debate — Two big winners, two big losers and one big, unanswered question
- FiveThirtyEight: National 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary Polls
First Democratic Presidential Debates (June 26-27, 2019 – Hosted by NBC in Miami, Florida)
- NBC News: First Democratic Debate, nights 1 and 2, in Under 10 Minutes
- FiveThirtyEight: What Went Down on Night One of the First Democratic Debates
- NYTimes: 6 Highlights from Night 2 of the Democratic Debates
- Fortune: Democratic Debate Night 2: What We Learned From Each Candidate
- The Hill: Winners and losers from two nights of Democratic debates