Democratic Party primaries in North Dakota, 2020

2022 → ← 2018

Democratic Party primaries, 2020

Primary Date

June 9, 2020

Primary Runoff Date

N/A

Federal elections

Democratic primaries for U.S. House

State party

Democratic Party of North Dakota

State political party revenue

This page focuses on the Democratic primaries that took place in North Dakota on June 9, 2020. Click here for more information about the Republican primaries.

Note that the dates and terms of participation for presidential preference primaries and caucuses sometimes differ from those that apply to primaries for state-level and other federal offices, which are the subject of this article. For more information on this state's presidential nomination process, click here.

Federal elections

U.S. House

See also: United States House election in North Dakota, 2020 (June 9 Democratic primary)

The 2020 U.S. House of Representatives elections in North Dakota took place on November 3, 2020. Voters elected one candidate to serve in the U.S. House from the state's at-large congressional district.

 Democratic primary candidates

• Zach Raknerud ✔ 
• Roland Riemers

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

State elections

State Senate

See also: North Dakota State Senate elections, 2020

State Assembly

See also: North Dakota House of Representatives elections, 2020

State executive offices

See also: North Dakota state executive official elections, 2020

Context of the 2020 elections

North Dakota Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas  •  Thirty-one years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

State party overview

See also: Democratic Party of North Dakota

State political party revenue

See also: State political party revenue and State political party revenue per capita

State political parties typically deposit revenue in separate state and federal accounts in order to comply with state and federal campaign finance laws.

The Democratic Party and the Republican Party maintain state affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select U.S. territories. The following map displays total state political party revenue per capita for the Democratic state party affiliates.

Voter information

How the primary works

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. A primary election is also sometimes used to choose convention delegates and party leaders; however, these selection processes can vary from state to state and party to party within a state. In North Dakota, precinct, district, and state party officials are selected at party caucuses and conventions, not at the state-administered primary election. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. North Dakota utilizes an open primary system, in which voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.^[1][2]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Poll times

In North Dakota, voting hours at polling locations vary by county. According to statute, all polls must open between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. local time, and they must close between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. North Dakota is divided between the Central and Mountain time zones. Hours for specific polling places are available online through the state's Polling Place Search. A voter who is standing in line at the time the polls close will be allowed to vote.^[3][4]

Registration requirements

Check your voter information here.

North Dakota is the only state that does not require voter registration.^[5][6]

“	Although North Dakota was one of the first states to adopt voter registration prior to the turn of the century, it abolished it in 1951. It is also worth noting that North Dakota law still provides cities with the ability to register voters for city elections. North Dakota is a rural state and its communities maintain close ties and networks. North Dakota's system of voting, and lack of voter registration, is rooted in its rural character by providing small precincts. Establishing relatively small precincts is intended to ensure that election boards know the voters who come to the polls to vote on Election Day and can easily detect those who should not be voting in the precinct.[5][7]	”
—North Dakota Secretary of State

Voter ID requirements

North Dakota requires voters to present identification while voting. Identification must include the voter’s name, current North Dakota residential address, and date of birth.^[8]

Acceptable forms of voter identification include:

• Driver’s license
• Nondriver’s identification card
• Tribal government-issued identification (including those issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for a tribe located in North Dakota, any other tribal agency or entity, or any other document that sets forth the tribal member’s name, date of birth, and current North Dakota residential address)
• Long-term care identification certificate (provided by North Dakota facility)

If a voter does not have a form of identification that includes his or her current North Dakota residential address or date of birth, the voter can present the following supplemental documents:

• Current utility bill
• Current bank statement
• Check or a document issued by a federal, state, local, or tribal government (including those issued by BIA for a tribe located in North Dakota, any other tribal agency or entity, or any other document that sets forth the tribal member’s name, date of birth, and current North Dakota residential address)
• Paycheck
• Student photo ID card from a North Dakota institution containing the student's photograph and legal name. A printed document on school letterhead containing the student’s name, address, and date of birth must also be presented.
• North Dakota residents living outside of the United States can submit a U.S. Passport or Military ID if they do not have another valid form of identification.

According to the secretary of state's office, "An applicant without an acceptable form of identification may use an attester. The attester must provide his or her name, North Dakota driver’s license, nondriver’s, or tribal identification number, and sign the absentee/mail ballot application form to attest to the applicant’s North Dakota residency and voting eligibility."^[8]

Voters who cast absentee/mail-in ballot must include a valid form of identification with their ballot. A voter who has a disability that prevents them from leaving his or her home and is unable to obtain a valid form of identification "must provide his or her name, North Dakota driver’s license, nondriver’s, or tribal identification number, and sign the absentee/mail ballot application form to attest to the applicant’s North Dakota residency and voting eligibility."^[8]

Early voting

North Dakota law permits counties to establish early voting.^[9] As of October 2024, seven of North Dakota's 53 counties offered early voting. Together, these counties contained 76 of the state's 175 Election Day polling places.^[10] Learn more by visiting this website.

Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.

As of February 2024, 47 states and the District of Columbia permitted no-excuse early voting.

Absentee voting

All voters are eligible to vote absentee in North Dakota. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.^[2][11]

There is no specific deadline for applying for an absentee ballot. The completed ballot must be postmarked at least one day before the election.^[11]

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County	Trump margin of victory in 2016	Obama margin of victory in 2012	Obama margin of victory in 2008
Benson County, North Dakota	4.33%	17.01%	33.53%
Ransom County, North Dakota	15.77%	13.77%	15.33%
Sargent County, North Dakota	19.73%	9.77%	17.49%
Steele County, North Dakota	17.72%	1.92%	20.35%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won North Dakota with 63 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 27.2 percent. In presidential elections between 1892 and 2016, North Dakota voted Republican 81.25 percent of the time and Democratic 15.6 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, North Dakota voted Republican all five times.^[12]

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in North Dakota. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.^[13][14]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won eight out of 47 state House districts in North Dakota with an average margin of victory of 13.9 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won four out of 47 state House districts in North Dakota with an average margin of victory of 10.7 points.

In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 39 out of 47 state House districts in North Dakota with an average margin of victory of 25.1 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 43 out of 47 state House districts in North Dakota with an average margin of victory of 38.9 points. Trump won three districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

2016 presidential results by state House district
District	Obama	Romney	2012 Margin	Clinton	Trump	2016 Margin	Party Control
1	25.25%	72.44%	R+47.2	15.70%	77.60%	R+61.9	R
2	23.50%	74.04%	R+50.5	12.81%	81.65%	R+68.8	R
3	34.53%	62.62%	R+28.1	20.28%	69.79%	R+49.5	R
4	44.65%	53.30%	R+8.7	31.23%	62.19%	R+31	R
5	35.04%	62.99%	R+27.9	25.32%	65.85%	R+40.5	R
6	33.60%	64.02%	R+30.4	19.03%	73.86%	R+54.8	R
7	28.93%	68.80%	R+39.9	18.95%	74.05%	R+55.1	R
8	28.39%	69.14%	R+40.7	16.17%	78.39%	R+62.2	R
9	73.98%	24.10%	D+49.9	57.16%	33.14%	D+24	D
10	40.63%	56.80%	R+16.2	23.79%	68.63%	R+44.8	R
11	54.52%	42.92%	D+11.6	47.09%	42.67%	D+4.4	D
12	40.44%	56.89%	R+16.5	28.16%	63.38%	R+35.2	R
13	45.20%	52.76%	R+7.6	36.60%	54.96%	R+18.4	R
14	30.67%	67.01%	R+36.3	19.04%	74.40%	R+55.4	R
15	43.56%	53.45%	R+9.9	28.47%	62.14%	R+33.7	R
16	50.78%	45.95%	D+4.8	40.22%	49.41%	R+9.2	R
17	43.28%	54.92%	R+11.6	36.93%	56.05%	R+19.1	R
18	55.25%	41.99%	D+13.3	39.68%	50.13%	R+10.4	D
19	38.30%	59.10%	R+20.8	23.98%	68.23%	R+44.3	R
20	43.84%	53.94%	R+10.1	28.99%	61.73%	R+32.7	D
21	58.10%	37.73%	D+20.4	49.24%	38.72%	D+10.5	D
22	39.93%	57.89%	R+18	30.35%	60.24%	R+29.9	R
23	48.91%	48.94%	R+0	34.28%	57.80%	R+23.5	R
24	45.51%	52.18%	R+6.7	30.90%	59.19%	R+28.3	R
25	41.58%	56.58%	R+15	27.20%	64.26%	R+37.1	D
26	47.28%	50.58%	R+3.3	30.77%	59.94%	R+29.2	R
27	43.92%	53.66%	R+9.7	38.23%	51.62%	R+13.4	R
28	25.69%	71.88%	R+46.2	14.18%	80.31%	R+66.1	R
29	34.32%	63.27%	R+28.9	20.98%	72.76%	R+51.8	R
30	34.36%	63.38%	R+29	23.14%	69.35%	R+46.2	R
31	37.63%	60.06%	R+22.4	24.35%	68.30%	R+44	R
32	37.65%	59.45%	R+21.8	26.56%	64.60%	R+38	R
33	26.89%	70.44%	R+43.6	13.37%	81.32%	R+68	R
34	36.69%	60.28%	R+23.6	23.55%	67.65%	R+44.1	R
35	37.72%	59.56%	R+21.8	29.88%	60.59%	R+30.7	R
36	21.01%	77.00%	R+56	11.33%	83.81%	R+72.5	R
37	26.51%	71.55%	R+45	16.67%	77.64%	R+61	R
38	30.15%	67.72%	R+37.6	19.59%	72.28%	R+52.7	R
39	19.92%	78.02%	R+58.1	11.09%	83.49%	R+72.4	R
40	35.42%	61.14%	R+25.7	25.35%	63.05%	R+37.7	R
41	42.55%	55.38%	R+12.8	39.53%	51.32%	R+11.8	R
42	49.85%	46.46%	D+3.4	39.58%	49.50%	R+9.9	R
43	49.24%	48.50%	D+0.7	41.62%	50.35%	R+8.7	R
44	52.26%	44.96%	D+7.3	46.38%	42.62%	D+3.8	D
45	44.75%	52.72%	R+8	35.95%	54.29%	R+18.3	R
46	45.62%	52.35%	R+6.7	41.96%	49.55%	R+7.6	R
47	30.74%	67.39%	R+36.7	25.59%	67.63%	R+42	R
Total	38.92%	58.66%	R+19.7	27.74%	64.15%	R+36.4	-
Source: Daily Kos

See also

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes