Who’s Winning the 2020 Presidential Delegate Count?

The Democratic Party will choose their nominee to challenge President Donald Trump during seven months of elections that begin with the Iowa caucus on Feb. 3. Bloomberg News is keeping track of each candidate’s path to the nomination up to the Democratic Party Convention in August.

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A candidate wins the nomination if they secure a majority of delegates. They can do that by winning 1,991 or more pledged delegates—those awarded based on election results. If no candidate reaches a majority of pledged delegates, unpledged superdelegates—party leaders and officials—are allowed to vote. In that scenario, a candidate must get 2,376 delegates to become the nominee.

Total delegates allocated

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Pledged delegates are allocated in caucuses, primaries and party conventions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories. Delegates are also allocated in a vote by American citizens who are registered Democrats and live outside the U.S.

Democratic primaries and caucuses are proportional, meaning that pledged delegates are awarded according to the percentage of the vote won by each viable candidate. For each state contest, about 35% of delegates are awarded statewide and the rest are divided among the state’s congressional districts. At both levels, there’s a 15% viability threshold to qualify for any delegates. If no candidate meets the 15% bar, the threshold is half the percentage of the top-finishing candidate. But if only one candidate meets the threshold, the delegates are effectively awarded winner-take-all.

Delegate allocation by primary or caucus 👆

Hover to see results

Superdelegates, also known as “unpledged” or “automatic” delegates, are Democratic delegates who get a ticket to the convention based on their role in the party—445 national committee members, 280 members of Congress, 24 governors and 22 other party leaders like former presidents and national chairmen. Their role has been controversial because they can vote their own conscience and could conceivably overturn the will of rank-and-file delegates in a contested convention. New rules this year ensure that won’t be the case—but only on the first ballot.

Here’s how it works:

• If one candidate has enough delegates to win the convention outright—at least 2,376 delegates—superdelegates can vote because they won’t make a difference.
• If one candidate has a majority of pledged delegates—at least 1,991—only those pledged delegates can vote on the first ballot and that candidate becomes the nominee.
• If no candidate has a majority of pledged delegates on the first ballot—less than 1,991—the convention moves to a second ballot in which superdelegates can vote.

Primary and caucus schedule 👆

See how the candidates’ delegate counts compare to the median path to the nomination