2020 United States presidential election in Illinois explained

See main article: 2020 United States presidential election.

Election Name:2020 United States presidential election in Illinois
Country:Illinois
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
College Voted:yes
Previous Election:2016 United States presidential election in Illinois
Previous Year:2016
Election Date:November 3, 2020
Next Election:2024 United States presidential election in Illinois
Next Year:2024
Turnout:72.14%
Image1:Joe Biden presidential portrait (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:Joe Biden
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Home State1:Delaware
Running Mate1:Kamala Harris
Electoral Vote1:20
Popular Vote1:3,471,915
Percentage1:57.54%
Nominee2:Donald Trump
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:Florida
Running Mate2:Mike Pence
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:2,446,891
Percentage2:40.55%
President
Before Election:Donald Trump
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Joe Biden
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)

The 2020 United States presidential election in Illinois was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated.[1] Illinois voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump of Florida, and his running mate, Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana, against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware, and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California. Illinois had 20 votes in the Electoral College.[2] Prior to the 2020 election, all news organizations predicted Illinois was a state that Biden would win, or otherwise considered a safe blue state.

Biden carried Illinois, winning 57.54% of the vote to Trump's 40.55%, winning by roughly the same 17-point margin by which Hillary Clinton carried the state in 2016. Libertarian nominee Jo Jorgensen, a native of Grayslake, won 1.1% of the state's vote, with other minor candidates winning less than 1%. Biden's win in Illinois was largely the result of a lopsided 74.3% victory in Cook County, the state's most populous county and the home of Chicago. In fact, without Cook County, Trump would have won Illinois.

Per exit polls by the Associated Press, Biden's strength came from a coalition of key Democratic constituencies: he garnered 92% of votes from Blacks; 68% from Latinos, including 67% of Latinos of Mexican heritage; 53% from union households; and 50% of Whites.[3] Biden flipped McLean County (Bloomington-Normal) and Kendall County (in the Chicago metropolitan area), both of which had voted for Barack Obama in 2008, but then for Mitt Romney in 2012 and Trump in 2016.[4] [5] Biden became the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 to be elected president without winning formerly Democratic leaning Alexander County, solidifying its rural shift towards Republicans in elections; he also became the first to do so without carrying Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Putnam, Warren, or Whiteside counties since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Illinois was one of five states in the nation in which Biden's victory margin was larger than one million raw votes, the others being California, Maryland, Massachusetts and New York.

Primary elections

Illinois held its primary elections as scheduled, despite concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[6] Election officials in Illinois acknowledged that they believed turnout was unusually low.[6]

In the state-run primaries (Democratic and Republican), turnout was 28.36%, with 2,279,439 votes cast.[7] The 28.36% turnout marked an 18.2 percentage point decrease from the turnout in the 2016 state-run presidential primaries, but a similar turnout to the 2000, 2004, and 2012 presidential primaries.

The state-run primary elections for the Democratic and Republican parties were held on March 17, 2020.[7] The Green Party had organized its own primary on March 14, 2020.

Democratic primary

See main article: 2020 Illinois Democratic presidential primary.

The 2020 Illinois Democratic presidential primary was held on March 17, 2020, as one of the Democratic Party's state primaries ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Major candidates included Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Republican primary

See main article: 2020 Illinois Republican presidential primary.

The 2020 Illinois Republican presidential primary was held on March 17, 2020, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Republican Party's state primaries ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Incumbent president Donald Trump won the primary with over 96 percent of the vote.[8] Joe Walsh, a former member of the House of Representatives from Illinois, announced the launch of his campaign in August 2019 and dropped out in February 2020. Rocky De La Fuente, a businessman from California, also challenged Trump, achieving 4% of the vote. Richard Mayers, a 2016 Green Party candidate, was a write-in candidate here.

2020 Illinois Republican Party presidential primary[9]
CandidatePopular voteDelegates
CountPercentage
Donald Trump (incumbent)520,95695.98%67
Rocky De La Fuente21,8334.02%0
Richard Mayers write-in110.00%0
Total:542,800100%67

Green

Election Name:2020 Illinois Green Party presidential primary
Country:Illinois
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Votes For Election:27 Green National Convention delegates
Previous Election:2016 Illinois Green Party presidential primary
Previous Year:2016
Election Date:March 14, 2020
Candidate1:Howie Hawkins
Party1:Green Party of the United States
Home State1:New York
Delegate Count1:20
Popular Vote1:unknown
Percentage1:73%
Candidate2:Dario Hunter
Party2:Green Party of the United States
Home State2:California
Delegate Count2:7
Popular Vote2:unknown
Percentage2:27%
Map Size:150px

The 2020 Illinois Green Party presidential primary was held from March 14, 2020, in the U.S. state of Illinois as one of the Green Party's state primaries ahead of the 2020 presidential election. It was run by the Green Party of Illinois.

Illinois Green Party presidential primary, March 14, 2020[10]
CandidateVotesPercentageNational delegates
Howie Hawkins73%20
Dario Hunter27%7
Total100.00%27

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report[11] November 3, 2020
Inside Elections[12] November 3, 2020
Sabato's Crystal Ball[13] November 3, 2020
Politico[14] November 3, 2020
RCP[15] November 3, 2020
Niskanen[16] November 3, 2020
CNN[17] November 3, 2020
The Economist[18] November 3, 2020
CBS News[19] November 3, 2020
270towin[20] November 3, 2020
ABC News[21] November 3, 2020
NPR[22] November 3, 2020
NBC News[23] November 3, 2020
538[24] November 3, 2020

Polling

Graphical summary

Aggregate polls

Joe
Biden
! class="unsortable"
Donald
Trump

Other/
Undecided
Margin
270 to Win[25] October 17 – November 2, 2020November 3, 202056.3%37.7%6.0%Biden +18.6
FiveThirtyEight[26] until November 2, 2020November 3, 202055.0%39.0%6.0%Biden +16.0
Average55.7%38.4%5.9%Biden +17.3

Polls

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
Donald
Trump

Joe
Biden
Jo
Jorgensen

Howie
Hawkins

OtherUndecided
SurveyMonkey/Axios[27] Oct 20 – Nov 2, 20205,643 (LV)± 2%40%58%--
Research Co.[28] Oct 31 – Nov 1, 2020450 (LV)± 4.6%38%55%--1%6%
Victory Research[29] Oct 28 – Nov 1, 20201,208 (LV)± 2.82%38%54%--4%4%
Swayable[30] Oct 27 – Nov 1, 2020485 (LV)± 6%44%55%1%0%
SurveyMonkey/AxiosOct 1–28, 20208,056 (LV)41%57%--
Swayable[31] Oct 23–26, 2020424 (LV)± 6.2%43%54%2%1%
SurveyMonkey/AxiosSep 1–30, 20208,392 (LV)36%61%--3%
Victory Research[32] Sep 23–26, 20201,208 (LV)± 2.82%40%53%--4%3%
SurveyMonkey/AxiosAug 1–31, 20206,773 (LV)38%60%--2%
SurveyMonkey/AxiosJul 1–31, 20207,565 (LV)38%59%--2%
SurveyMonkey/AxiosJun 8–30, 20203,000 (LV)39%59%--2%

Results

The election was not close with Biden winning by a nearly 17-point margin. Biden only won 14 of the state's 102 counties; however, those 14 counties account for more than half the state's total electorate. Key to Biden's landslide victory was heavily populated Cook County, home of Chicago, which he won with over 74% of the vote. Biden also did well in the suburban (collar) counties of Chicago, winning all of them easily except for McHenry County. Biden also did well in St. Clair County, located in the St Louis metropolitan area. Biden also managed to flip two counties, Kendall County and McLean County. Biden also made history by earning the most votes ever cast in an Illinois presidential election. Biden received 3,471,915 votes. This is more than then-Senator Obama in 2008 when he received 3,419,348, but less than Senator Dick Durbin's 3,615,844 votes in the 2008 Senate race.

On December 14, Illinois's 20 electors met in the Illinois State Capitol to cast their votes for Biden and Harris formally.[33]

By county

CountyJoe Biden
Democratic
Donald Trump
Republican
Various candidates
Other parties
MarginTotal votes cast
%%%%
Adams8,63325.75%24,22072.24%6742.01%−15,587−46.49%33,527
Alexander1,11442.50%1,48656.70%210.80%−372−14.20%2,621
Bond2,28828.02%5,62568.89%2523.09%−3,337−40.87%8,165
Boone10,54242.09%13,88355.43%1,7332.48%−3,341−13.34%25,048
Brown48619.25%1,93176.48%1084.27%−1,445−57.23%2,525
Bureau6,66938.12%10,41159.51%4142.37%−3,742−21.39%17,494
Calhoun67724.41%2,04673.78%501.81%−1,369−49.37%2,773
Carroll2,74834.19%5,10563.52%1842.29%−2,357−29.33%8,037
Cass1,61530.32%3,62568.06%861.62%−2,010−37.74%5,326
Champaign57,06759.71%35,28536.92%3,2213.37%21,78222.79%95,573
Christian4,33526.71%11,56371.24%3332.05%−7,228−44.53%16,231
Clark1,99323.81%6,22674.39%1501.80%−4,233−50.58%8,369
Clay1,12916.36%5,62981.59%1412.05%−4,500−65.23%6,899
Clinton4,49323.38%14,30474.45%4172.17%−9,811−51.07%19,214
Coles8,06735.59%14,03761.92%5642.49%−5,970−26.33%22,668
Cook1,725,97374.22%558,26924.01%41,1631.77%1,167,70450.21%2,325,405
Crawford2,20223.32%7,04374.60%1962.08%−4,841−51.28%9,441
Cumberland1,14219.52%4,60178.66%1061.82%−3,459−59.14%5,849
DeKalb24,64351.35%21,90545.65%1,4413.00%2,7385.70%47,989
DeWitt2,19127.25%5,63270.06%2162.69%−3,441−42.81%8,039
Douglas2,33526.66%6,22771.08%1982.26%−3,892−44.42%8,760
DuPage281,22257.66%193,61139.69%12,9302.65%87,61117.97%487,763
Edgar1,88722.98%6,19375.41%1321.61%−4,306−52.43%8,212
Edwards48814.49%2,83384.12%471.39%−2,345−69.63%3,368
Effingham3,71619.47%15,00678.64%3611.89%−11,290−59.17%19,083
Fayette1,82618.12%8,05579.94%1951.94%−6,229−61.82%10,076
Ford1,75425.18%5,04872.46%1652.36%−3,294−47.28%6,967
Franklin4,76025.50%13,62272.97%2871.53%−8,862−47.47%18,669
Fulton6,50338.88%9,86759.00%3542.12%−3,364−20.12%16,724
Gallatin62223.25%2,01975.48%341.27%−1,397−52.25%2,675
Greene1,34921.63%4,77076.48%1181.89%−3,421−54.85%6,237
Grundy9,62635.98%16,52361.75%6072.27%−6,897−25.77%26,756
Hamilton82419.06%3,43279.39%671.55%−2,608−60.33%4,323
Hancock2,31524.62%6,90673.44%1821.94%−4,591−48.82%9,403
Hardin44920.77%1,69178.21%221.02%−1,242−57.44%2,162
Henderson1,18732.47%2,39465.48%752.05%−1,207−33.01%3,656
Henry9,79738.12%15,30059.53%6042.35%−5,503−21.41%25,701
Iroquois2,90820.71%10,87777.45%2581.84%−7,969−56.74%14,043
Jackson11,18149.22%10,89047.94%6472.84%2911.28%22,718
Jasper1,00718.03%4,49480.45%851.52%−3,487−62.42%5,586
Jefferson4,60826.43%12,47671.55%3522.02%−7,868−45.12%17,436
Jersey2,96124.76%8,71272.84%2872.40%−5,751−48.08%11,960
Jo Daviess5,10940.79%7,16657.21%2502.00%−2,057−16.42%12,525
Johnson1,28119.86%5,05978.43%1101.71%−3,778−58.57%6,450
Kane130,16656.14%96,77541.74%4,9352.12%33,39114.40%231,876
Kankakee20,27140.51%28,53257.02%1,2372.47%−8,261−16.51%50,040
Kendall33,16851.66%29,49245.93%1,5452.41%3,6765.73%64,205
Knox10,70346.12%12,00951.75%4962.13%−1,306−5.63%23,208
Lake204,03260.78%123,59436.82%8,0492.40%80,43823.96%335,675
LaSalle22,44241.80%30,11356.09%1,1322.11%−7,671−14.29%53,687
Lawrence1,41922.10%4,88676.08%1171.82%−3,467−53.98%6,422
Lee6,40738.97%9,63058.58%4032.45%−3,223−19.61%16,440
Livingston4,61526.81%12,20870.92%3912.27%−7,593−44.11%17,214
Logan3,84028.81%9,13668.55%3512.64%−5,296−39.74%13,327
Macon19,84740.07%28,58957.72%1,0982.21%−8,742−17.65%49,534
Macoupin7,36530.60%16,15367.11%5522.29%−8,788−36.51%24,070
Madison57,83642.04%76,03155.27%3,6912.69%−18,195−13.23%137,558
Marion4,52425.86%12,67872.47%2921.67%−8,154−46.61%17,494
Marshall2,00531.60%4,19766.15%1432.25%−2,192−34.55%6,345
Mason1,98529.26%4,65468.59%1462.15%−2,669−39.33%6,785
Massac1,72525.30%4,99773.29%961.41%−3,272−47.99%6,818
McDonough4,99240.50%7,02757.00%3082.50%−2,035−16.50%12,327
McHenry78,15447.49%82,26049.98%4,1642.53%−4,106−2.49%164,578
McLean43,93350.27%40,50246.35%2,9523.38%3,4313.92%87,387
Menard2,02229.08%4,76468.51%1682.41%−2,742−39.43%6,954
Mercer3,28036.80%5,41860.78%2162.42%−2,138−23.98%8,914
Monroe6,56930.98%14,14266.69%4952.33%−7,573−35.71%21,206
Montgomery3,90528.38%9,54469.36%3122.26%−5,639−40.98%13,761
Morgan5,07633.11%9,95064.89%3072.00%−4,874−31.78%15,333
Moultrie1,66224.60%4,96473.48%1301.92%−3,302−48.88%6,756
Ogle9,42835.79%16,24861.69%6642.52%−6,820−25.90%26,340
Peoria43,57851.90%38,25245.55%2,1432.55%5,3266.35%83,973
Perry2,61225.94%7,31372.61%1461.45%−4,701−46.67%10,071
Piatt3,32933.79%6,24863.43%2742.78%−2,919−29.64%9,851
Pike1,48418.63%6,33279.50%1491.87%−4,848−60.87%7,965
Pope43319.90%1,72279.14%210.96%−1,289−59.24%2,176
Pulaski89133.87%1,69964.58%411.55%−808−30.71%2,631
Putnam1,33839.41%1,99358.70%641.89%−655−19.29%3,395
Randolph3,59224.09%11,07674.29%2421.62%−7,484−50.20%14,910
Richland1,83022.66%6,08975.39%1581.95%−4,259−52.73%8,077
Rock Island36,69154.81%28,60342.72%1,6532.47%8,08812.09%66,947
Saline2,78925.15%8,10373.07%1971.78%−5,314−47.92%11,089
Sangamon48,91746.52%53,48550.87%2,7402.61%−4,568−4.35%105,142
Schuyler1,06827.26%2,77370.78%771.96%−1,705−43.52%3,918
Scott57220.85%2,11477.07%572.08%−1,542−56.22%2,743
Shelby2,50420.67%9,42677.80%1851.53%−6,922−57.13%12,115
St. Clair68,32553.17%57,15044.47%3,9302.36%11,1758.70%128,505
Stark81528.24%2,00469.44%672.32%−1,189−41.20%2,886
Stephenson9,05540.95%12,52156.63%5352.42%−3,466−15.68%22,111
Tazewell24,81935.83%42,51361.37%1,9442.80%−17,694−25.54%69,276
Union2,57928.96%6,16169.19%1641.85%−3,582−40.23%8,904
Vermilion10,32332.62%20,72565.50%5941.88%−10,402−32.88%31,642
Wabash1,25322.35%4,23775.57%1172.08%−2,984−53.22%5,607
Warren3,09039.00%4,67659.01%1581.99%−1,586−20.01%7,924
Washington1,64120.72%6,11577.20%1652.08%−4,474−56.48%7,921
Wayne1,18713.97%7,17684.43%1361.60%−5,989−70.46%8,499
White1,51720.41%5,79177.93%1231.66%−4,274−57.52%7,431
Whiteside12,25344.67%14,52752.95%6532.38%−2,274−8.28%27,433
Will183,91553.11%155,11644.80%7,2352.09%28,7998.31%346,266
Williamson10,20630.26%22,80167.60%7232.14%−12,595−37.34%33,730
Winnebago64,05649.98%60,86147.49%3,2432.53%3,1952.49%128,160
Woodford6,16028.65%14,79968.83%5432.52%−8,639−40.18%21,502
Totals3,471,91557.39%2,446,89140.45%130,6942.16%1,025,02416.94%6,049,500

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

Biden won 12 of the 18 congressional districts, Trump won 6 including one that elected a Democrat.[34]

DistrictBidenTrumpRepresentative
73.9%24.7%Bobby Rush
77.5%21.2%Robin Kelly
55.5%42.9%Dan Lipinski
Marie Newman
80.7%17.3%Chuy García
72.1%26%Mike Quigley
55.3%42.6%Sean Casten
86.3%12.1%Danny Davis
59.2%39%Raja Krishnamoorthi
71%27.4%Jan Schakowsky
64.3%34%Brad Schneider
61.9%36.2%Bill Foster
41.9%56.1%Mike Bost
47%50.5%Rodney Davis
50.2%47.8%Lauren Underwood
25.9%72.2%Mary Miller
40.9%56.9%Adam Kinzinger
48.1%49.7%Cheri Bustos
36.8%61%Darin LaHood

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: US elections key dates: When are the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential campaign?. https://web.archive.org/web/20180802011326/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections-key-dates-midterms-2020-presidential-house-congress-senate-a8472821.html . 2018-08-02 . limited . live. Kelly. Ben. August 13, 2018. The Independent. January 3, 2019.
  2. Web site: Distribution of Electoral Votes. National Archives and Records Administration. January 3, 2019.
  3. News: 2020-11-03. Illinois Voter Surveys: How Different Groups Voted. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-11-09. 0362-4331.
  4. Web site: The Political Graveyard: Kendall County, Ill.. 2020-11-20. politicalgraveyard.com.
  5. Web site: The Political Graveyard: McLean County, Ill.. 2020-11-20. politicalgraveyard.com.
  6. Web site: Corasaniti . Nick . Saul . Stephanie . Stevens . Matt . Epstein . Reid J. . Illinois Stumbles as States See Light Voter Turnout, With Many Ballots in the Mail . The New York Times . March 25, 2020 . March 17, 2020.
  7. Book: Sandvoss, Steven S. (Executive Director). Official Canvass of the 2020 Illinois General Election. April 17, 2020. Illinois State Board of Elections. January 16, 2024.
  8. Web site: Illinois Republican Delegation 2020. The Green Papers. March 20, 2020.
  9. News: Donald Trump wins Republican primary in Illinois, clinches party nomination . March 18, 2020 . ABC Chicago . March 17, 2020.
  10. Web site: Howie Hawkins Wins Illinois Green Party Presidential Selection Vote . Illinois Green Party . March 17, 2020 . March 17, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200317225406/https://www.ilgp.org/hawkins_wins_in_illinois . dead .
  11. Web site: 2020 POTUS Race ratings. The Cook Political Report. en. 2020-08-30.
  12. Web site: POTUS Ratings Inside Elections. insideelections.com. 2019-05-21.
  13. Web site: Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2020 President. crystalball.centerforpolitics.org. 2019-05-21.
  14. Web site: 2020 Election Forecast. November 19, 2019 . Politico.
  15. Web site: Battle for White House. April 19, 2019 . RCP.
  16. https://www.270towin.com/maps/niskanen-center-electoral-college-predictions 2020 Bitecofer Model Electoral College Predictions
  17. Web site: David Chalian . Terence Burlij. ROAD TO 270. 2020-10-30. CNN.
  18. News: Forecasting the US elections . The Economist . July 7, 2020.
  19. Web site: 2020 Election Battleground Tracker. CBS News. July 12, 2020. July 13, 2020.
  20. Web site: 2020 Presidential Election Interactive Map. 270towin. October 30, 2020. October 30, 2020.
  21. Web site: ABC News Race Ratings. ABC News. July 24, 2020. July 24, 2020.
  22. Web site: 2020 Electoral Map Ratings: Trump Slides, Biden Advantage Expands Over 270 Votes. 2020-10-30. 270towin.org. en.
  23. Web site: Road to 270: Choose potential paths to a White House victory. 2020-08-06. NBC News. en.
  24. Web site: 2020 Election Forecast . FiveThirtyEight . August 12, 2020 . August 14, 2020.
  25. https://www.270towin.com/2020-polls-biden-trump/illinois/ 270 to Win
  26. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/illinois/ FiveThirtyEight
  27. https://www.tableau.com/data-insights/us-election-2020/candidate-preference SurveyMonkey/Axios
  28. https://researchco.ca/2020/11/02/us2020-eight-states-uspoli/ Research Co.
  29. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/20201102_IL_victoryresearch.pdf Victory Research
  30. https://www.swayable.com/polls/2020-11-02-large.html Swayable
  31. https://www.swayable.com/polls/2020-10-28.html Swayable
  32. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/20200928_IL.pdf Victory Research
  33. News: December 14, 2020 . Illinois Electoral College Members Formally Cast Ballots for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris . NBC Chicago . Chicago . December 14, 2020.
  34. Web site: Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012. Daily Kos.