2020 United States presidential election in Georgia

2020 United States presidential election in Georgia

← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →
Turnout66.2%[1] Increase 6.1 pp
 
Nominee Joe Biden Donald Trump
Party Democratic Republican
Home state Delaware Florida
Running mate Kamala Harris Mike Pence
Electoral vote 16 0
Popular vote 2,473,633 2,461,854
Percentage 49.47% 49.24%


President before election

Donald Trump
Republican

Elected President

Joe Biden
Democratic

The 2020 United States presidential election in Georgia 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.[2] Georgia 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 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. Georgia has 16 electoral votes in the Electoral College.[3]

Biden narrowly won Georgia by a margin of 0.23% and 11,779 votes. Leading up to the election, Georgia was seen as a key swing state in both the presidential and senatorial elections—both a regular Class II U.S. Senate election and a special election—due to the rapid growth and diversification of Atlanta's suburbs, where Republicans were once dominant. Polls of the state throughout the campaign indicated a close race, and prior to election day, most news organizations considered Georgia a toss-up. This was the only state in the Deep South carried by Biden, made possible by significant demographic shifts over the previous decade, especially in Metro Atlanta.[4] While Georgia still has a relative GOP lean at the state level, the explosive growth of its capital city and surrounding suburbs has shifted it into a swing state at the federal level.

Like in other states, Trump had an early lead on election night due to the state counting in-person votes first on that day, before counting mail-in ballots over the following days. Biden subsequently cut into Trump's margin over the course of the week and eventually overtook Trump on Friday morning. Although majority-minority Burke County—near Augusta—flipped to Trump after supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016, Biden was able to build Clinton's vote shares in the densely populated Metro Atlanta counties of Gwinnett, Cobb, and Henry, increasing her vote shares of 50%, 48%, and 50% to 58%, 56%, and 60%, respectively–in all three cases, the best showing for a non-Georgian Democrat since John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election.

Biden became the first Democrat to carry the state since Bill Clinton in 1992;[5] the first to win a statewide election in Georgia since 2006;[6] the first to carry a state in the Deep South since Bill Clinton carried Louisiana in 1996; and the first to gain over 70% of the vote in Fulton County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944. He was also the first non-Southern Democrat to carry a state in the Deep South since Kennedy in 1960.

Due to the close margins in the initial election results, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced on November 11 that a recount by hand would be conducted.[7] The recount was completed on November 18,[8][9] and Biden was confirmed to be the winner on November 19.[10]

Trump would engage in unsuccessful attempts to overturn the results, challenging Raffensperger in a widely publicized phone call to "find" 11,780 more votes. Actions taken by Trump allies in Georgia, including a scheme to send fake electors to Congress, are currently under criminal investigation, which has thus far led to a criminal indictment against Trump and his allies.

  1. ^ ("Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2020". United States Census Bureau. May 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.)
  2. ^ Kelly, Ben (August 13, 2018). "US elections key dates: When are the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential campaign?". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  3. ^ "Distribution of Electoral Votes". National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  4. ^ reporter, Lauren Tierney Lauren TierneyGraphics; cartographerEmailEmailBioBioFollowFollow. "The six political states of Georgia". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "Joe Biden wins Georgia, flipping the state for Democrats". Associated Press. November 19, 2020. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "GA Attorney General". Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  7. ^ Stracqualursi, Veronica (November 11, 2020). "Georgia to conduct full by-hand count of presidential race ballots, secretary of state says". CNN. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  8. ^ "Election 2020 updates: Georgia nears recount completion; no more uncounted ballots found". USA Today. November 18, 2020. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  9. ^ Stirgus, Eric. "Georgia election recount nears finish line with few hiccups". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "Georgia confirms Biden victory and finds no widespread fraud after statewide audit". CNN. November 19, 2020. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.

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