2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries
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Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 4,051 delegates to the
2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...
held July 25–28 and determine the nominee for
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
in the
2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticke ...
. The elections took place within all fifty U.S. states, the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...
, five U.S. territories, and
Democrats Abroad Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living temporarily or permanently abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee. Democrats Abroa ...
and occurred between February 1 and June 14, 2016. A total of six major candidates entered the race starting April 12, 2015, when former Secretary of State and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
formally announced her second bid for the presidency. She was followed by
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 20 ...
, former
Governor of Maryland The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...
Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as the 61st Governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007. O'Malley ...
, former
Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The current governor is Democrat Dan McKee. In their capac ...
Lincoln Chafee, former
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
Senator Jim Webb and
Harvard Law Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class i ...
Professor
Lawrence Lessig Lester Lawrence Lessig III (born June 3, 1961) is an American academic, attorney, and political activist. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard ...
. A draft movement was started to encourage
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
Senator
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as ...
to seek the presidency, but Warren declined to run, as did incumbent Vice President Joe Biden. Webb, Chafee, and Lessig withdrew prior to the February 1, 2016,
Iowa caucuses The Iowa caucuses are biennial electoral events for members of the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections in most other U.S. states, where registered voters go to polling places to cast ballot ...
. Clinton won Iowa by the closest margin in the history of the state's Democratic
caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
to date. O'Malley suspended his campaign after a distant third-place finish, leaving Clinton and Sanders as the only two candidates. The race turned out to be more competitive than expected, with Sanders decisively winning
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, while Clinton subsequently won
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
and won a landslide victory in
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
. Clinton then secured numerous important wins in each of the nine most populous states including
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
, and
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, while Sanders scored various victories in between. He then laid off a majority of staff after the New York primary and Clinton's multi-state sweep on April 26. On June 6, the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
and
NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's v ...
stated that Clinton had become the presumptive nominee after reaching the required number of delegates, including both pledged and unpledged delegates ( superdelegates), to secure the nomination. In doing so, she became the first woman to ever be the presumptive nominee of any major political party in the United States. On June 7, Clinton officially secured a majority of pledged delegates after winning in the California and New Jersey primaries. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
, Vice President Joe Biden and Senator
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as ...
formally endorsed Clinton on June 9. Sanders confirmed on June 24 that he would vote for Clinton over
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
in the general election and formally endorsed Clinton on July 12 in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsm ...
. On July 22,
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...
published the Democratic National Committee email leak, in which DNC operatives seemed to deride Bernie Sanders' campaign and discuss ways to advance Clinton's nomination, leading to the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and other implicated officials. The leak was allegedly part of an operation by the
Russian government The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russ ...
to undermine Hillary Clinton. Although the ensuing controversy initially focused on emails that dated from relatively late in the primary, when Clinton was already close to securing the nomination, the emails cast doubt on the DNC's neutrality and, according to Sanders operatives and multiple media commentators, showed that the DNC had favored Clinton since early on. This was evidenced by alleged bias in the scheduling and conduct of the debates, as well as controversial DNC–Clinton agreements regarding financial arrangements and control over policy and hiring decisions. Other media commentators have disputed the significance of the emails, arguing that the DNC's internal preference for Clinton was not historically unusual and did not affect the primary enough to sway the outcome.Heersink, Boris (November 4, 2017)
"No, the DNC didn’t 'rig' the Democratic primary for Hillary Clinton"
''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
''. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
The controversies ultimately led to the formation of a DNC "unity" commission to recommend reforms in the party's primary process. On July 26, 2016, the
Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...
officially nominated Clinton for president and a day later, Virginia Senator
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...
for vice president. On November 8, 2016, Republican nominee
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
defeated Clinton in the general election, though Clinton won the popular vote.


Candidates


Nominee


Withdrew at the convention


Withdrew during the primaries


Withdrew before the primaries


Other candidates' results

The following candidates were frequently interviewed by news channels and were invited to forums and candidate debates. For reference, Clinton received 16,849,779 votes in the primaries. Other candidates participated in one or more state primaries without receiving major coverage or substantial vote counts.


Timeline


Background

In the weeks following the re-election of President Obama in the 2012 election, media speculation regarding potential candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2016 presidential election began to circulate. The speculation centered on the prospects of Clinton, then- Secretary of State, making a second presidential bid in the 2016 election. Clinton had previously served as a
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...
for New York (2001–09) and was the First Lady of the U.S. (1993–2001). A January 2013 ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
''–
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...
poll indicated that she had high popularity among the American public. This polling information prompted numerous political pundits and observers to anticipate that Clinton would mount a second presidential bid in 2016, entering the race as the early front-runner for the Democratic nomination. From the party's liberal
left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album '' Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * ...
wing came calls for a more progressive candidate to challenge what was perceived by many within this segment as the party's establishment. Elizabeth Warren quickly became a highly touted figure within this movement as well as the object of a draft movement to run in the primaries, despite her repeated denials of interest in doing so. The MoveOn.org campaign 'Run Warren Run' announced that it would disband on June 8, 2015, opting to focus its efforts toward progressive issues. The draft campaign's New Hampshire staffer, Kurt Ehrenberg, had joined Sanders' team and most of the remaining staffers were expected to follow suit. Given the historical tendency for sitting vice presidents to seek the presidency in election cycles in which the incumbent president is not a candidate, there was also considerable speculation regarding a potential presidential run by incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, who had previously campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in the election cycles of 1988 and
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
. This speculation was further fueled by Biden's own expressions of interest in a possible run in 2016. However, on October 21, 2015, speaking from a podium in the Rose Garden with his wife and President Obama by his side, Biden announced his decision not to enter the race, as he was still dealing with the loss of his son, Beau, who died weeks earlier at the age of 47. Biden would become the nominee for the Democratic Party four years later in the
2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: ** ...
where he would go on to become the 46th President of the United States after defeating incumbent president Donald Trump in the general election. On May 26, 2015, Sanders officially announced his run as a presidential candidate for the Democratic nomination, after an informal announcement on April 30 and speculation since early 2014. Sanders had previously served as Mayor of
Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
(1981–89), Vermont's sole U.S. Representative (1991–2007) and Vermont's junior Senator (2007–present). He emerged as the biggest rival to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries, backed by a strong
grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
campaign and a
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
following. In November 2014, Jim Webb, a former U.S. Senator who had once served as the U.S. Secretary of the Navy during the
Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...
, announced the formation of an exploratory committee in preparation for a possible run for the Democratic presidential nomination. This made Webb the first major potential candidate to take a formal action toward seeking the party's 2016 nomination.
Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as the 61st Governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007. O'Malley ...
, former
Governor of Maryland The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...
as well as a former
Mayor of Baltimore The mayor of Baltimore is the head of the executive branch of the government of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The Mayor has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills, ordinances, or resolutions passed by the ...
, made formal steps toward a campaign for the party's nomination in January 2015 with the hiring and retaining of personnel who had served the previous year as political operatives in Iowa – the first presidential nominating state in the primary elections cycle – as staff for his political action committee (PAC). O'Malley had started the "O’ Say Can You See" PAC in 2012 which had, prior to 2015, functioned primarily as fundraising vehicles for various Democratic candidates, as well as for two 2014
ballot measure A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption o ...
s in Maryland. With the 2015 staffing moves, the PAC ostensibly became a vehicle for O'Malley – who had for several months openly contemplated a presidential bid – to lay the groundwork for a potential campaign for the party's presidential nomination. In August 2015,
Lawrence Lessig Lester Lawrence Lessig III (born June 3, 1961) is an American academic, attorney, and political activist. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard ...
unexpectedly announced his intention to enter the race, promising to run if his exploratory committee raised $1 million by
Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
. After accomplishing this, Lessig formally announced his campaign. He described his candidacy as a referendum on
electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of: * Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant ...
legislation, prioritizing a single issue: the Citizen Equality Act of 2017, a proposal that couples campaign finance reform with other laws aimed at curbing
gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
and ensuring voting access.


Overview


February 2016: early primaries

Despite being heavily favored in polls issued weeks earlier, Clinton was only able to defeat Sanders in the first-in-the-nation
Iowa Caucus The Iowa caucuses are biennial electoral events for members of the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections in most other U.S. states, where registered voters go to polling places to cast ballo ...
by the closest margin in the history of the contest: 49.8% to 49.6% (Clinton collected 700.47 state delegate equivalents to Sanders' 696.92, a difference of one-quarter of a percentage point). This led to speculation that she won due to six coin-toss tiebreakers all resulting in her favor. However, the only challenge to the caucus' results was in a single precinct, which gave Clinton a fifth delegate. The victory, which was projected to award her 23 pledged national convention delegates (two more than Sanders), made Clinton the first woman to win the Caucus and marked a clear difference from 2008, where she finished in third place behind Obama and John Edwards. Martin O'Malley suspended his campaign after a disappointing third-place finish with only 0.5% of the state delegate equivalents awarded, leaving Clinton and Sanders the only two major candidates in the race. A week later, Sanders won the
New Hampshire primary The New Hampshire presidential primary is the first in a series of nationwide party primary elections and the second party contest (the first being the Iowa caucuses) held in the United States every four years as part of the process of choos ...
, receiving 60.4% of the popular vote to Clinton's 38%, putting him ahead of Clinton in the overall pledged delegate count by four, and making him the first
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
candidate of a major party to win a primary. Hillary Clinton's loss in New Hampshire was a regression from 2008, when she defeated Obama, Edwards, and a handful of other candidates including Joe Biden with 39% of the popular vote. Sanders' narrow loss in Iowa and victory in New Hampshire generated speculation about a possible loss for Clinton in
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, the next state to hold its caucuses on February 20. For her part, Clinton, who had won the state eight years prior in the 2008 Nevada Democratic caucuses, hoped that a victory would allay concerns about a possible repetition of 2008 when she ultimately lost to Obama despite entering the primary season as the favorite for the nomination. Ultimately, Clinton emerged victorious with 52.6% of the county delegates, a margin of victory similar to her performance in 2008. Sanders, who attained 47.3% of the vote, was projected to receive five fewer pledged delegates than Clinton and the result was not promising for the following weekend's primary in South Carolina, more demographically favorable to Clinton than the prior contests. On February 27, Clinton won the
South Carolina primary The South Carolina presidential primary is an open primary election which has become one of several key early-state presidential primaries in the process of the Democratic and Republican Parties choosing their respective general election nominees ...
with 73.5% of the vote, receiving a larger percentage of the
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
vote than Barack Obama had eight years earlier – 90% to Obama's 80%.


March 1, 2016: Super Tuesday

The 2016 primary schedule was significantly different from that of 2008. During that election cycle, many states moved their primaries or caucuses to earlier in the calendar to have greater influence over the race. In 2008, February 5 was the earliest date allowed by the Democratic National Committee, leading 23 states and territories to move their elections to that date, the biggest Super Tuesday to ever take place. For 2016, the calendar was more disparate than it was in 2008, with several groups of states voting on different dates, the most important being March 1, March 15, April 26 and June 7. The day with the most contests was March 1, 2016, in which primaries or caucuses were held in 11 states (including six in the
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
) and
American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...
. A total of 865 pledged delegates were at stake. Clinton secured victories in all of the southern contests except
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
. Her biggest victory of the day came in
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
, where she won 77.8% of the vote against Sanders' 19.2%, although her most significant delegate prize came from Texas, where she received 65.2% of the vote with strong support from non-white as well as white voters. Collectively, the southern states gave Clinton a net gain of 165 pledged delegates. Apart from the South, Clinton also narrowly defeated Sanders in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, as well as winning in the territory of
American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...
. Sanders scored comfortable wins in the
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
and
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
caucuses and
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
primary and won an 86.1%–13.6% landslide in his home state of
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
- one of only two times either of the two main candidates missed the 15% threshold in a state or territory, with the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Clinton received over 87% of the vote, being the other one. Although the results overall were unfavorable for Sanders, his four wins and narrow loss allowed him to remain in the race in anticipation of more favorable territory in
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, the
Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, a ...
, Mountain States and the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...
. At the end of the day, Clinton collected 518 pledged delegates to Sanders' 347, taking her lead to 609–412, a difference of 197 pledged delegates.


Mid-March contests

Sanders found more hospitable ground on the weekend of March 5, 2016, winning caucuses in
Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...
,
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
and
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
by significant margins. Clinton answered with an even larger win in Louisiana's primary, limiting Sanders' net gain for the weekend to only four delegates. Clinton would also win the Northern Mariana Islands caucus, held the following weekend on March 12. Two states had held nominating contests on March 8 –
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
and
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
– with Clinton heavily favored to win both.
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
went for Clinton, as expected, by a landslide margin. The Mississippi primary was the highest vote share Clinton won in any state. However, Sanders stunned by scoring a narrow win in
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
. Analysts floated a number of theories to explain the failure of the Michigan polling, with most centering on pollsters' erroneous assumptions about the composition of the electorate stemming from the 2008 primary in Michigan not having been contested due to an impasse between the state party and DNC. Although Clinton expanded her delegate lead, some journalists suggested Sanders' upset might presage her defeat in other delegate-rich Midwestern states, such as
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
and
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
, who voted a week later on March 15, along with
North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
and
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
, where Clinton was more clearly favored. Clinton was able to sweep all five primaries, extending her pledged delegate lead by around 100 delegates, although Sanders was able to hold Clinton to narrow margins in her birth-state of Illinois and especially Missouri, where Clinton won by a mere 0.2 points. Missouri state law allowed for a possible recount had any of the candidates requested it; however, Sanders forwent the opportunity on the basis that it would not significantly affect the delegate allocation. By the end of the evening, Clinton had expanded her pledged delegate lead to more than 320, several times larger than her greatest deficit in the 2008 primary.


Late March and early April

Following the March 15 primaries, the race moved to a series of contests more favorable for Sanders. On March 21, the results of the
Democrats Abroad Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living temporarily or permanently abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee. Democrats Abroa ...
primary (held March 1–8) were announced. Sanders was victorious and picked up nine delegates to Clinton's four, closing his delegate deficit by five.
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...
and
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
held primaries on March 22, dubbed "Western Tuesday" by media. Despite continued efforts by Sanders to close the gap in Arizona after his surprise win in Michigan, Clinton won the primary with 56.3% of the vote. However, Clinton lost both Idaho and Utah by roughly 60 points, allowing Sanders to close his delegate deficit by 25. The next states to vote were
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
and
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
on March 26, 2016. All three states were considered as favorable for Sanders, and most political analysts expected him to win them all, given the demographics and Sanders' strong performance in previous caucuses. Sanders finished the day with a net gain of roughly 66 delegates over Clinton. His largest win was in Alaska, where he defeated Clinton with 82% of the vote, although the majority of his delegate gain came from the considerably more populous state of
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, which he won by a 46% margin, outperforming then-Senator Obama's 2008 results, when he defeated Clinton 68%–31%. The Clinton and Sanders campaigns reached an agreement on April 4 for a ninth debate to take place on April 14 (five days before the New York primary) in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, which would air on CNN and NY1. On April 5, Sanders won the
Wisconsin primary Elections in Wisconsin are held to fill various local, state, and federal seats. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. In a 2020 study, Wisconsin was ranked as th ...
by 13 and 1/2 percentage points, closing his delegate deficit by 10 more. The Wyoming caucuses were held on April 9, which Sanders won with 55.7% of the state convention delegates choosing him; however, Clinton had a stronger showing than expected, given her demographic disadvantage and that she did not campaign personally in the state. Each candidate was estimated to have earned 7 of Wyoming's 14 pledged delegates.


Late April and May

On April 19, Clinton won
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
by 16 points. While Sanders performed well in
Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...
and with younger voters, Clinton performed well among all other age groups and non-whites, and she won a majority in all boroughs of
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Five Northeastern states held primaries a week later on April 26. The day was dubbed the "Super Tuesday III" or the "Acela Primary" after
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
's ''
Acela Express The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Boston via 13 intermediate stops, inclu ...
'' train service that connects these states. Clinton won in
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
while Sanders won the Rhode Island primary. On May 3, Sanders pulled off a surprise victory in the Indiana primary, winning over Clinton by a five-point margin despite trailing in all the state's polls. Clinton then won the Guam caucus on May 7 and, on May 10, she won the non-binding Nebraska primary while Sanders won in
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
. Clinton narrowly won
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
on May 17 by half a percentage point and gained one delegate, after heavily campaigning in the state. On the same day, Sanders won his second closed primary in
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
where he gained nine delegates, a net gain of eight on the day. Clinton then went on to win the non-binding Washington primary on May 24.


June contests

June contained the final contests of the Democratic primaries, and both Sanders and Clinton invested heavily into winning the California primary. Clinton led the polls in California but some predicted a narrow race. On June 4 and 5, Clinton won two decisive victories in the Virgin Islands caucus and Puerto Rico primary. On June 6, both the Associated Press and NBC News reported that Clinton had sufficient support from pledged and unpledged delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee. Clinton's campaign seemed reluctant to accept the mantle of "presumptive nominee" before all the voting was concluded, while Sanders' campaign stated it would continue to run and accused the media of a "rush to judgement." Six states held their primaries on June 7. Clinton won in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
,
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...
and
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...
. Sanders won
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
and
North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, ...
, the latter being the only caucus contest held on that day. Clinton finally declared victory on the evening of June 7, as the results ensured that she had won a majority of the pledged delegates and the popular vote. Sanders stated he would continue to run for the Democratic Party's nomination in the final primary in the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...
on June 14, which Clinton won. Both campaigns met at a downtown Washington D.C. hotel after the primary. The Sanders campaign said that they would release a video statement on June 16 to clarify the future of Sanders' campaign; the video announced that Sanders looked forward to help Clinton defeat Trump. On July 12, 2016, Sanders endorsed Clinton in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsm ...
.


July 2016: National Convention and email leaks


Email leaks

On July 22, 2016,
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...
released online tens of thousands of messages leaked from the e-mail accounts of seven key DNC staff. Some e-mails showed two DNC staffers discussing the possibility that Sanders' possible atheism might harm him in a general election with religious voters. Others showed a few staffers had expressed personal preferences that Clinton should become the nominee, suggesting that the party's leadership had worked to undermine Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign. Then-DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz called the accusations lies. The furor raised over this matter escalated to Wasserman Schultz's resignation ahead of the convention, and that of Marshals, Dacey, and Communications Director Luis Miranda afterwards. Following Wasserman Schultz's resignation, then-DNC Vice Chair
Donna Brazile Donna Lease Brazile (; born December 15, 1959) is an American political strategist, campaign manager and political analyst who served twice as acting Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). She is currently an ABC News contributor, an ...
took over as interim DNC chairwoman for the convention and remained so until February 2017. In November 2017, Brazile said in her book and related interviews that the Clinton campaign and the DNC had colluded 'unethically' by giving the Clinton campaign control over the DNC's personnel and press releases before the primary in return for funding to eliminate the DNC's remaining debt from 2012 campaign, in addition to using the DNC and state committees to funnel campaign-limitation-exceeding donations to her campaign. Internal memos later surfaced, claiming that these measures were not meant to affect the nominating process despite their timing. At the end of June 2016, it was claimed that "more money rom the Hillary Victory Fundwill be moved to the state parties in the coming months." Brazile later clarified that she claimed the process was 'unethical', but 'not a criminal act'. DNC officials including chairman
Tom Perez Thomas Edward Perez (born October 7, 1961) is an American politician and attorney who served as the Chair of the Democratic National Committee from February 2017 until January 2021. Perez was previously Assistant Attorney General for Civil Right ...
pointed out that the same joint-fundraising agreement had been offered to Sanders and applied only to the general election; however, the Clinton campaign also had a second agreement that granted it additional, unusual oversight over hiring and policy, even though the text of the agreement insisted on the DNC's impartiality and focus on the general election. Brazile later denied that the primary was rigged, because "no votes were overturned," but described herself as "very upset" about a DNC–Clinton fundraising agreement. ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' characterized Brazile's eventual argument as: "Clinton exerted too much power but did win the nomination fairly."


=Russian involvement

= After the general election, the U.S. intelligence community and the Special Counsel investigation assessed that the leaks were part of a larger interference campaign by the Russian government to cause political instability in the United States and to damage the Hillary Clinton campaign by bolstering the candidacies of Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Jill Stein. The Russian government is alleged to have promoted Sanders beginning in 2015 as a way to weaken or defeat Clinton, who Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
opposed. The influence campaign by the
Internet Research Agency The Internet Research Agency (IRA; russian: Агентство интернет-исследований, translit=Agentstvo internet-issledovaniy), also known as ''Glavset'' (russian: link=no, Главсеть) and known in Russian Internet sla ...
targeted Sanders voters through social media and encouraged them to vote for a third party candidate or abstain from voting. Sanders denounced these efforts and urged his supporters to support Clinton in the general election. When news of the DNC leak first surfaced in June 2016, the Russian government denied allegations of hacking. WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army int ...
also stated that the Russian government was not source of the leak. In July 2018, the special counsel indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking and leaking the emails.


National Convention

The
2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...
was held from July 25–28 at the
Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center may refer to: *Wells Fargo Center (Los Angeles), California *Wells Fargo Center (Sacramento), California * Wells Fargo Center (San Francisco), California * Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California *Wells Fargo Cent ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
, with some events at the
Pennsylvania Convention Center The Pennsylvania Convention Center is a multi-use public facility in the Market East section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed to accommodate conventions, exhibitions, conferences and other events. The "L"-shaped complex occupies four ci ...
. The delegates selected the Democratic presidential and vice-presidential nominees and wrote the
party platform A political party platform (US English), party program, or party manifesto (preferential term in British & often Commonwealth English) is a formal set of principle goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order ...
. A simple majority of 2,383 delegates was needed to win the presidential nomination. (official source tracking active campaigns + adding delegates won on April 26, pending source update) While most of the delegates were bound on the first ballot according to the results of the primaries, a progressively larger number of pledged delegates would have become unbound if the nomination required more than one ballot. Clinton was nominated on the first ballot by
acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...
, although all states were allowed to announce how they would have voted under a typical roll call vote. On July 12, 2016, the Vermont delegates had supported Clinton in Sanders' request; asking for party unity, he dropped out on July 26, 2016, and announced he would return to the Senate as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...
.


Graphical summary of polling


Campaign finance

This is an overview of the money used in the campaign as it is reported to
Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...
(FEC) and released on April 27, 2016. Outside groups are
independent expenditure An independent expenditure, in elections in the United States, is a political campaign communication that expressly advocates for the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate that is not made in cooperation, consultation or concert wit ...
only committees—also called PACs and SuperPACs. Several such groups normally support each candidate, but the numbers in the table are a total of all of them. This means that a group of committees can be shown as technically insolvent (shown in red) even though it is not the case of all of them. The Campaign Committee's debt is shown in red if the campaign is technically insolvent. The source of all the numbers is
OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...
. Some spending totals are not available, due to withdrawals before the FEC deadline.


Process

The Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses are
indirect election An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office (direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the old ...
s in which voters elect delegates to the
2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...
; these delegates in turn directly elect the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. In some states, the party may disregard voters' selection of delegates or selected delegates may vote for any candidate at the state or national convention (''non-binding'' primary or caucus). In other states, state laws and party rules require the party to select delegates according to votes, and delegates must vote for a particular candidate (''binding'' primary or caucus). There are 4,051 pledged delegates and 714
superdelegate In American politics, a superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote. These Democratic Party superdelegates (who make up slightly under 15 ...
s in the 2016 cycle. Under the party's delegate selection rules, the number of pledged delegates allocated to each of the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. is determined using a formula based on three main factors: # The proportion of votes each state gave to the Democratic candidate in the last three presidential elections (2004, 2008, and 2012) # The number of electoral votes each state has in the
United States Electoral College The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia a ...
. # The stage of the primary season when they held their contest. States and territories that held their contests later are given bonus seats. A candidate must win 2,383 delegates at the national convention, in order to win the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. For the U.S. territories of
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
,
American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...
,
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, the U.S. Virgin Islands and for
Democrats Abroad Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living temporarily or permanently abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee. Democrats Abroa ...
, fixed numbers of pledged delegates are allocated. All states and territories then must have used a
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
system, where their pledged delegates were awarded proportionally to the election results. A candidate must receive at least 15% of the popular vote to win pledged delegates in a state. The current 714 unpledged superdelegates (or "soft" delegates) included members of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
and
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, state and territorial governors, members of the Democratic National Committee, and other party leaders. Because of possible deaths, resignations, or the results of intervening or special elections, the final number of these superdelegates may be reduced before the convention. The Democratic National Committee also imposed rules for states that wished to hold early contests in 2016. No state was permitted to hold a primary or caucus in January and only Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada were entitled to February contests. Any state that violated these rules were penalized half its pledged delegates and all its superdelegates to the 2016 convention.


Schedule and results

The following are the results of candidates that won at least one state. These candidates were on the ballots for every state, territory and federal district contest. The results of caucuses did not always have attached preference polls and attendance was extremely limited. The unpledged delegate count did not always reflect the latest declared preferences.


Superdelegate endorsements

Superdelegates are elected officials and members of the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...
who vote at the
Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...
for their preferred candidate. Also known as ''unpledged delegates,'' they comprise 15% of the convention (712 votes out of 4,763) and they may change their preference at any time. The table below reflects current public endorsements of candidates by superdelegates, as detailed and sourced in the full list above. Because commonly referenced estimates of superdelegate support, including those by CNN and the AP, do not identify individual delegates as supporting a given candidate, their published tallies may differ from the totals computed here.


Close states

Source: States where the margin of victory was under 1%: #Missouri, 0.25% #Iowa, 0.25% #Kentucky, 0.42% States where the margin of victory was under 5%: #Massachusetts, 1.40% #Michigan, 1.42% #Illinois, 1.95% #South Dakota, 2.06% #New Mexico, 3.06% #Indiana, 4.92% States where the margin of victory was under 10%: #Nevada, 5.28% #Connecticut, 5.38% #California, 6.14% #Montana, 7.40% States where the margin of victory was under 20%: #Oklahoma, 10.36% #Rhode Island, 11.63% #Pennsylvania, 12.08% #Ohio, 12.99% #Wisconsin, 13.54% #Wyoming, 13.64% #North Carolina, 13.64% #Oregon, 14.18% #Nebraska, 14.28% #Arizona, 14.90% #West Virginia, 15.57% #New York, 16.06% #Colorado, 18.68%


Maps

File:U.S. States by Vote Distribution, 2016 (Democratic Party).svg, Breakdown of the results in vote distribution, by state File:Democratic Party presidential primaries results by county, 2016.svg, Results of popular vote, by county File:Democratic Party presidential primaries results, 2016 by margin of victory.svg, Results in popular vote margin, by state File:Democratic Party presidential primary results by county by popular vote margin 2.svg, Results in popular vote margin, by county File:Delegation Vote, 2016 (Democratic Party, only pledged delegates).svg, Breakdown of the results in pledged delegates, by state File:Delegation Vote ,2016 (Democratic Party, total delegates).svg, Breakdown of the results in total delegate count, by state File:Democratic Party presidential primaries pledged delegates results, 2016.svg, Results in pledged delegates, by state


See also

Related Democratic Party articles * Results of the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries * Nationwide opinion polling for the Democratic Party 2016 presidential primaries *
Statewide opinion polling for the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries This article contains opinion polling by U.S. state for the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries. For currency and accuracy, please note the specific dates for each polling as listed below. For the significance of the earliest state vot ...
* 2016 Democratic Party presidential candidates *
2016 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums Debates occurred among candidates in the campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for the president of the United States in the 2016 presidential election. Several forums, in which candidates do not respond directly to each other, were la ...
*
List of Democratic Party presidential primaries This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Unit ...
Presidential primaries *
2016 Constitution Party presidential primaries The 2016 Constitution Party presidential primaries were 2 electoral contests, held in the states of Idaho and Missouri, by the Constitution Party during the 2016 election season in order to allocate delegates from those states to the 2016 Cons ...
*
2016 Green Party presidential primaries The 2016 Green Party presidential primaries were a series of primaries, caucuses and state conventions in which voters elected delegates to represent a candidate for the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States at the 2016 Gre ...
*
2016 Libertarian Party presidential primaries The 2016 Libertarian Party presidential primaries and caucuses allowed electors to indicate non-binding preferences for the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate. These differed from the Republican or Democratic presidential primarie ...
*
2016 Republican Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were se ...
National conventions *
2016 Constitution Party National Convention The Constitution Party National Convention is held by the United States Constitution Party every two to four years. , there have been eight. National conventions 1992 convention *The first national convention of the party, then known as the U.S. ...
*
2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...
*
2016 Green National Convention The 2016 Green National Convention, in which delegates of the Green Party of the United States chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the national election, was held August 4–7, 2016 in Houston, Texas. In August 2015, ...
*
2016 Libertarian National Convention The 2016 Libertarian National Convention was the gathering at which delegates of the Libertarian Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 national election. The party selected Gary Johnson, a former Governor ...
*
2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was held July 18–21, 2016, at Quicken L ...


Notes


References


External links


Democratic Convention Watch

Green papers for 2016 primaries, caucuses, and conventions


* ttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/4/1496004/-Updated-Snapshot-Hillary-Bernie One-page summary on Daily Kos of candidate differences only (many links to sources) {{DEFAULTSORT:Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016 2016 in women's history