| Country: | Northern Mariana Islands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Election Date: | 3 November 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2020 Northern Mariana Islands general election were held on Tuesday, 3 November, 2020,[1] corresponding with the 2020 United States general elections. Voters in the Northern Mariana Islands voted for the non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives, 3 seats in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, all twenty seats in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, seats for the municipal council, seats for the board of education, 1 justice, and 2 judges.
This election oversaw the return of the CNMI Democratic Party as a major force in CNMI politics for the first time in a decade.[2] [3] 2020 also saw the first time a party was able to challenge the CNMI Republican Party since the Covenant Party was dissolved in 2013. Four incumbent representatives that were elected as independents announced that they would run for re-election as Democrats while another independent aligns with the party.[4] [5] Prior to the 2020 election, the Democrats had not won a legislative seat since their last wins in the 2007 general elections. The result of the 2020 general election was that the CNMI had experienced a blue wave, with the Democrats controlling nearly half the house and adding a member to the senate. The Republicans lost the trifecta it held since the 2016 Northern Mariana Islands general election and the single-party system it held since 2013. Voter turnout was at 72.05%, lower than the previous general elections election years of 2018, which was 77.4%, and 2014, which was 76.7%.[6]
See main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives election in Northern Mariana Islands.
Incumbent Delegate Gregorio Sablan, an independent who caucuses with the Democratic Party, ran uncontested for re-election. Sablan, first elected in 2008, had held the seat since its creation in 2009. Delegate Gregorio Sablan was re-elected. The Northern Mariana Islands' non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives are elected for a two-year term.
| Parties | House Election Results | Seat Change | Party Strength | - style ="background:#e9e9e9" | 2018 | 2020 | +/− | Strength | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align = center | 13 | align = center | 9 | align = center | 4 | align = center | 45.00% | - | align = center | 0 | align = center | 8 | align = center | 8 | align = center | 40.00% | - | align = center | 7 | align = center | 3 | align = center | 4 | align = center | 15.00% | - style = "background:#ccc" | Totals | 20 | 20 | 100.00% | |||||||||
The Northern Mariana Islands Senate is the upper house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature, consisting of nine senators representing three senatorial districts (Saipan & the Northern Islands, Tinian & Aguijan, and Rota), each a Multi-member district with three senators. Each district had one seat open for the 2020 elections.
The Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives is the lower house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. The house has seven districts and five of the seven are Multi-member district. In 2019, a four-way race took place for a single seat in district 3 after its became vacant when Republican Rep. Francisco Dela Cruz died in January 2019. Republican Party candidate Marco Taisakan Peter was the victor.[7] All twenty seats were up for the 2020 elections.
| Justice | For retention | Against retention | Total | - | Votes | % | Votes | % | - | Robert Camacho Naraja | 9,836 | 81.28% | 2,266 | 18.72% | 12,102 | - | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judge | For retention | Against retention | Total | - | Votes | % | Votes | % | - | Robert Camacho Naraja | 10,236 | 84.48% | 1,881 | 15.52% | 12,117 | - | Kenneth Lewis Govendo | 9,592 | 79.96% | 2,404 | 20.04% | 11,996 | - | |||
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