2020 United States Senate election in New Hampshire
The 2020 United States Senate election in New Hampshire was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of New Hampshire, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen won reelection to a third term after comfortably defeating Republican nominee Bryant Messner by 15.6 points and sweeping every single county in the state. This is the first time in over 50 years a Democrat won Belknap County in a Senate race.


2020 United States Senate election in New Hampshire
Shaheen outperformed Biden in the concurrent presidential election by around 8 points.


2020 United States Senate election in New Jersey
The 2020 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of New Jersey. It was held concurrently with the 2020 United States presidential election, as well as various other elections. The primary elections were moved from June 2, 2020, to July 7, 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic concerns.


2020 United States Senate election in New Jersey
Incumbent Cory Booker, a member of the Democratic Party and a former 2020 presidential candidate, won a second full term. The Republican nominee was Rik Mehta.


2020 United States Senate election in New Jersey, General election, Results
The election was not close, with Booker winning re-election by 16.31%. Key to Booker's landslide victory was heavily populated areas such as Hackensack, Newark, and Trenton. Booker also narrowly won Morris County, which no Democratic Senator had ever carried since 1984 when Senator Bill Bradley swept every county. Mehta did well in Ocean County, which is a Republican stronghold, as well as many rural areas of the state. Booker made history as the highest vote earner in a statewide non-presidential election in New Jersey. Booker received 2,541,178 votes. Booker was sworn in for a second term on January 3, 2021. His term will expire on January 3, 2027.


2020 United States Senate election in New Mexico
The 2020 United States Senate election in New Mexico was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of New Mexico, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.


2020 United States Senate election in New Mexico
On March 25, 2019, incumbent Democratic Senator Tom Udall announced that he would retire. Udall was the only Democratic senator who did not run for reelection in 2020. Democratic U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján defeated Mark Ronchetti by a 6.1% margin. Luján underperformed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by 4.6%, who won the concurrent presidential election in the state against President Donald Trump by 10.8%.


2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina
The 2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of North Carolina, concurrently with the 2020 United States presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. North Carolina was one of just five states holding presidential, gubernatorial, and senatorial elections concurrently in 2020. On March 3, 2020, incumbent Thom Tillis and former State Senator Cal Cunningham won their respective primaries. Most experts and pollsters considered Cunningham to be the favorite, however, Tillis outperformed pre-election polling to win a narrow victory.


2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina
On November 10, 2020, a week after election day, Cunningham called Tillis to concede the race. Tillis won by a margin of 1.8% over Cunningham, similar to his narrow 1.6% victory in 2014.


2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina, General election, Campaign
During the Democratic primary, a Republican-funded Super PAC spent $3 million on ads attacking Cunningham and promoting left-wing rival Erica Smith.


2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina, General election, Campaign
Cunningham and Tillis participated in debates on September 13, September 22, and October 1.


2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina, General election, Campaign
In July, Tillis claimed Cunningham had been "silent" on the issue of defunding the police, saying,—"I assume [his] silence is ...consent". In reality, Cunningham had spoken publicly about the issue and written an op-ed a month earlier stating his opposition to defunding the police, advocating police reform instead.


2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina, General election, Campaign
On October 3, the New York Times wrote that the race had fallen into "utter mayhem" within a period of a few hours after Tillis tested positive for COVID-19 and Cunningham admitted to exchanging sexual text messages with a woman who was not his wife, damaging an image that leaned heavily on his character and military service. Days later, the woman confirmed that she had a consensual physical relationship with Cunningham in 2020. The Army Reserve started an investigation into Cunningham. The husband of the woman who confirmed having an affair with Cunningham, himself an Army veteran, called on Cunningham to drop out of the Senate race. Asked repeatedly whether he had had other extramarital affairs, Cunningham declined to answer.


2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina, General election, Campaign
Tillis's diagnosis, which came after an outbreak at a White House ceremony for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, temporarily threw Barrett's confirmation into jeopardy, as two Republican senators had already stated their intention to vote against (though one of them would eventually vote in favor of her confirmation).


2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina, General election, Fundraising
In the first quarter of 2020, Cunningham outraised Tillis for the first time, receiving $4.4 million compared to the $2.1 million Tillis raised. Tillis's prior fundraising, however, left him with the advantage in cash on hand, with $6.5 million in the bank, compared to Cunningham's $3 million.


2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina, General election, Results
While Tillis consistently trailed in pre-election polls, the senator narrowly defeated Cunningham 48.7 to 46.9 and slightly outperformed President Trump in terms of margin of victory. Tillis's upset victory has been largely attributed to Cunningham's response to his affair as well as Tillis's fierce campaigning during the last few weeks of the campaign.


2020 United States Senate election in Oklahoma
The 2020 United States Senate election in Oklahoma was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Oklahoma, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Senator Jim Inhofe won reelection to a fifth full term, defeating Democratic challenger Abby Broyles.


2020 United States Senate election in Oklahoma
This proved to be the fifth U.S. Senate election in Oklahoma in a row in which the Democratic nominee failed to carry any of Oklahoma's counties, but Broyles came very close to breaking this drought, losing Oklahoma County by less than one percentage point.


2020 United States Senate election in Oregon
The 2020 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Oregon, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic senator Jeff Merkley won reelection to a third term in office. Although this Senate seat was largely expected to be one of the safest for the Democrats, the race received national attention due to the Republican nominee Jo Rae Perkins's promotion of the unfounded QAnon conspiracy theory.


2020 United States Senate election in Rhode Island
The 2020 United States Senate election in Rhode Island was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Rhode Island, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Jack Reed was challenged by Republican nominee Allen Waters. Waters was later disavowed by the state Republican Party after charges of domestic assault in 2019 became public.


2020 United States Senate election in Rhode Island
Reed easily won a fifth term in office with 66.5% of the vote and a 33.1% margin. Despite Reed's clear landslide victory, this was actually Reed's worst Senate re-election performance, and the first time since 1996 in which he failed to receive at least 70% of the vote. Nevertheless, Reed outperformed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by 7.2% in the concurrent presidential election, the largest overperformance by any Democratic Senate candidate in 2020.


2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina
The 2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of South Carolina, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.


2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina
Incumbent Republican Senator Lindsey Graham won a fourth term and defeated Democratic nominee Jaime Harrison. Bill Bledsoe was also on the ballot, representing the Constitution Party. The primary elections were held on June 9, 2020.


2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina
Despite many polls throughout the last few months of the race showing a very close race as well as Harrison having record fundraising numbers, Graham defeated Harrison by 54.4% to 44.2% and a margin of 10.3% in the November 3, 2020 general election. Harrison slightly overperformed Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the concurrent presidential election, who lost to President Donald Trump by 11.7% in South Carolina.


2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina, General election, Advertisements
Jaime Harrison ran a number of ads attempting to attract conservative voters from Lindsey Graham by elevating Constitution Party candidate Bill Bledsoe as "too conservative—but in doing so, the would-be attack ad offers up right-wing voters a laundry list of things to like about him". Bledsoe, whose name was still on the ballot despite having withdrawn from the race, criticized the ads as fraudulent.


2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina, General election, Advertisements
Meanwhile, Graham ran ads attempting to brand Harrison as a diehard liberal while connecting him with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.


2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina, General election, Fundraising
In the first quarter of 2020, Harrison outraised Graham, $7.3 million to $5.5 million, but Graham had the lead in cash on hand, with $12 million compared with Harrison's $8 million.


2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina, General election, Fundraising
In the third quarter of 2020, Harrison raised $57 million, the largest quarterly total by a U.S. Senate candidate ever, breaking Beto O'Rourke's record in the 2018 Texas election. He has also raised the most ever by a U.S. Senate candidate, beating another of O'Rourke's records.


2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina, General election, Results
Graham defeated Harrison by over ten percentage points, 54.4% to 44.2% during the November 3, 2020 general election.


2020 United States Senate election in South Dakota
The 2020 United States Senate election in South Dakota was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of South Dakota, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Senator Mike Rounds was reelected to a second term in office, overperforming Donald Trump in the concurrent presidential election by 4.93 points.


2020 United States Senate election in Tennessee
The 2020 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Tennessee, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Senator Lamar Alexander announced that he would not run for reelection on December 17, 2018. The former United States Ambassador to Japan, Bill Hagerty won the open seat by a large margin against his Democratic opponent Marquita Bradshaw.


2020 United States Senate election in Texas
The 2020 United States Senate in Texas was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member to the United States Senate to represent the State of Texas, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn won reelection to a fourth term against Democratic nominee MJ Hegar by 9.6%.


2020 United States Senate election in Texas
Prior to the election, most news organizations projected this race as "Lean Republican", and was not expected to be as competitive the contest for Texas's other Senate seat two years prior, when Republican incumbent Ted Cruz defeated Democrat Beto O'Rourke by a 2.6% margin. Nonetheless, John Cornyn won in what was his worst performance out of his four elections for the U.S. Senate, while MJ Hegar's 43.9% marked the highest vote share of any of Cornyn's Democratic challengers. Despite this being Cornyn’s worst performance percentage-wise, he more than doubled his 2014 vote count and received the most raw votes for a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in the history of the United States.


2020 United States Senate election in Texas
Cornyn outperformed President Donald Trump in the state by about 4%, and was able to carry two counties won by Joe Biden (Tarrant and Williamson). While Cornyn did better than Trump in the Texas Triangle, contributing to his over performance, Hegar slightly outperformed Biden in the heavily Hispanic Rio Grande Valley, and was able to carry one Trump county (Zapata), though Hegar herself vastly underperformed previous Democratic margins in the region.


2020 United States Senate election in Virginia
The 2020 United States Senate election in Virginia was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Warner won reelection to a third term against Republican nominee Daniel Gade.


2020 United States Senate election in Virginia
Of Virginia's 20 most populous counties, Warner won 18, losing only Hanover and Spotsylvania.


2020 United States Senate election in Virginia, Background
Incumbent Senator Mark Warner first won election in 2008 getting 65% of the vote over former governor Jim Gilmore. In 2014, during the Tea Party movement, and declining voter turnout, Senator Warner won re-election with 49.1% of the vote defeating former chairman of the Republican National Committee Ed Gillespie by 0.8%.


2020 United States Senate election in Virginia, Republican primary
Seven Republicans declared that they would compete in the race, but only three made the threshold of 3,500 signatures. The original signature threshold was 10,000 signatures, but was lowered to 3,500 following a suit by Omari Faulkner. The primary was on June 23.


2020 United States Senate election in West Virginia
The 2020 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of West Virginia, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.


2020 United States Senate election in West Virginia
Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito won a second term against Democrat Paula Jean Swearengin by a margin of 43.3%, winning every county. Swearengin's 27% of the vote is the lowest vote percentage for any Democratic Senate candidate in West Virginia history.


2020 United States Senate election in West Virginia, Democratic primary
Paula Jean Swearengin won the nomination with 38.8% of the vote in the state's Democratic primary on June 9, 2020.


2020 United States Senate election in Wyoming
The 2020 United States Senate election in Wyoming was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Wyoming, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Republican Cynthia Lummis defeated Democrat Merav Ben-David by more than 46 percentage points, becoming the first female U.S. Senator from Wyoming and succeeding incumbent Republican Mike Enzi, who did not run for reelection. The Democratic and Republican party primary elections were held on August 18, 2020.


2020 United States Senate election in Wyoming, General election, Results
Lummis outperformed fellow Republican Donald J. Trump by 2.9%, or 4,541 votes. She also won Albany County by 1%, or 182 raw votes, while Trump lost it by 2.7%, or 513 votes. She performed significantly better in the Democratic stronghold of Teton County, receiving 37.3% of the total vote, compared to Trump's 29.6%. She was likely able to outperform Trump due to 3rd party candidate Libertarian Jo Jorgensen getting over 5,768 votes, or 2.1% of the vote, and Independent candidate Brock Pierce getting 2,208 votes, or 0.8%, in the Presidential election, while there were no 3rd party candidates in the Senate race.


2020 United States Senate elections
The 2020 United States Senate elections were held on November 3, 2020, with the 33 class 2 seats of the Senate contested in regular elections. Of these, 21 were held by Republicans and 12 by Democrats. The winners were elected to six-year terms from January 3, 2021, to January 3, 2027. Two special elections for seats held by Republicans were also held in conjunction with the general elections, with one in Arizona to fill the vacancy created by John McCain's death in 2018 and one in Georgia following Johnny Isakson's resignation in 2019. In both races, the incumbent Republican lost to a Democrat. These elections ran concurrent with the 2020 United States presidential election in which incumbent Republican president Donald Trump lost to Democratic nominee Joe Biden.


2020 United States Senate elections
In the 2014 United States Senate elections, the last regularly scheduled elections for Class 2 Senate seats, the Republicans won nine seats from the Democrats and gained a majority, which they continued to hold after the 2016 and 2018 elections. Before the election, Republicans held 53 seats, Democrats held 45 seats, and independents caucusing with the Democrats held two seats, which were not up for reelection. Including the special elections in Arizona and Georgia, Republicans defended 23 seats and the Democrats 12.


2020 United States Senate elections
In this election, the Democratic Party made a net gain of three Senate seats and the vice presidency, giving them a majority for the first time since 2014, albeit by a narrow 50-50 margin. Democrats unseated four Republicans – in Arizona, in Colorado, and in two elections in Georgia – while Republicans flipped a seat in Alabama. However, Democrats underperformed expectations overall; despite record-breaking turnout and fundraising efforts, they failed to flip several seats that were considered competitive, and lost many races by much larger margins than expected. Except in Maine, the winning party in every Senate election was the winning party in the state's presidential election.


2020 United States Senate elections
Due to election laws in Georgia that require candidates to win at least 50% of the vote in the general election, the state's regularly-scheduled and special Senate elections were decided in a runoff election on January 5, 2021. After the November general election, Republicans held 50 seats while Democrats held 48 and the vice presidency, so sweeping both races was crucial for Democrats to attain a majority. They succeeded in doing so, and the partisan balance in the Senate became tied for the first time since 2001, and only the second time in six decades.


2020 United States Senate elections
Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote gave Democrats control of the chamber by the smallest margin possible after the new administration took office. This marked the first time since 1980 that either chamber of Congress flipped partisan control in a presidential year.


2020 United States Senate elections
The Democrats' concurrent victory in the presidential election and their earlier victory in the United States House of Representatives gave the party unified control of government for the first time since 2008, and made Donald Trump the first President since Herbert Hoover, who served from 1929 to 1933, to lose re-election and cost his party both chambers of Congress in a single term.


2020 United States Senate elections, Change in composition
Republicans defended 23 seats while Democrats defended 12. Each block represents one of the 100 Senate seats. "D#" is a Democratic senator, "I#" is an Independent senator, and "R#" is a Republican senator. They are arranged so that the parties are separated and a majority is clear by crossing the middle.


2020 United States Senate elections, Change in composition, Before the elections
Each block indicates an incumbent senator's actions going into the election. Both Independents caucus with the Democrats.


2020 United States Senate elections, Final pre-election predictions
Several sites and individuals published predictions of competitive seats. These predictions looked at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent was running for reelection) and the other candidates, and the state's partisan lean (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assigned ratings to each seat, indicating the predicted advantage that a party had in winning that seat. Most election predictors used:


2020 United States Senate elections, Race summary, Special elections during the preceding Congress
In each special election, the winner's term begins immediately after their election is certified by their state's government.


2020 United States Senate elections, Race summary, Elections leading to the next Congress
In each general election, the winner is elected for the term beginning January 3, 2021.


2020 United States Senate elections, Alabama
Incumbent Democrat Doug Jones was elected in a special election in 2017, narrowly defeating Republican nominee Roy Moore. He ran for a full term in 2020, losing to Republican Tommy Tuberville in a landslide.


2020 United States Senate elections, Alabama
Tuberville is a former football head coach for Auburn University. He defeated former senator and attorney general Jeff Sessions in a July 14 runoff to secure the Republican nomination, after securing President Donald Trump's endorsement. Sessions occupied the seat until 2017 when he resigned to become attorney general in the Trump administration.


2020 United States Senate elections, Alabama
Alabama is one of the country's most Republican states, and Jones's win was in part due to sexual assault allegations against nominee Roy Moore during the special election; most analysts expected the seat to flip back to GOP control. Tuberville defeated Jones by more than 20 percentage points.


2020 United States Senate elections, Alaska
One-term Republican Dan Sullivan was elected in 2014, defeating incumbent Democrat Mark Begich. He defeated independent challenger Al Gross to win a second term in office.


2020 United States Senate elections, Alaska
Potential Democratic candidates included Begich, who was the Democratic nominee for governor of Alaska in 2018, and Anchorage mayor Ethan Berkowitz, who was the Democratic nominee for governor of Alaska in 2010. One Democrat, Edgar Blatchford, filed to run by the June 1 filing deadline.


2020 United States Senate elections, Alaska
Gross, an orthopedic surgeon and fisherman, declared his candidacy on July 2, 2019 as an Independent. He participated in a joint primary for the Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Libertarian Party and Alaskan Independence Party, winning the nomination as an independent supported by the Democratic Party.


2020 United States Senate elections, Alaska
Despite predictions of a close race, Sullivan defeated Gross by 12.7 percentage points.


2020 United States Senate elections, Arizona (special)
Six-term Republican John McCain was reelected in 2016 but died in office on August 25, 2018. Republican governor Doug Ducey appointed former senator Jon Kyl to fill the seat temporarily. After Kyl stepped down at the end of the year, Ducey appointed outgoing U.S. Representative Martha McSally to replace him after she lost the election to the other Arizona senate seat. McSally ran in the 2020 special election to fill the remaining two years of the term, losing to Democrat Mark Kelly, a former astronaut.


2020 United States Senate elections, Arizona (special)
Once a solidly Republican state, Arizona trended more purple in the late 2010s. Incumbent Republican Martha McSally was appointed to the late John McCain's seat two months after losing the 2018 Arizona U.S. Senate election to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema. Her Democratic opponent, astronaut Mark Kelly, raised significantly more money and generally led her by 5 to 15 points in the polling. McSally also suffered from low approval ratings due to her strong allegiance to Trump, who was unpopular in Arizona despite having won the state by 3.5 points in 2016.


2020 United States Senate elections, Arkansas
One-term Republican Tom Cotton was elected in 2014 after serving two years in the United States House of Representatives, defeating incumbent Democratic senator Mark Pryor by a comfortable margin. Cotton was reelected to a second term by a 33-point margin, defeating Libertarian Ricky Dale Harrington Jr


2020 United States Senate elections, Arkansas
Joshua Mahony, a nonprofit executive and 2018 Democratic nominee for Congress in Arkansas's 3rd congressional district, filed to run for the Democratic nomination, but dropped out just after the filing deadline. No other Democrats filed within the filing deadline. Progressive activist Dan Whitfield ran as an independent but suspended his campaign on October 1, 2020, after failing to qualify for the ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, Colorado
One-term Republican Cory Gardner was elected in 2014 after serving four years in the United States House of Representatives, narrowly defeating one-term Democrat Mark Udall. Gardner sought a second term but lost to Democrat John Hickenlooper by 9.3 percentage points.


2020 United States Senate elections, Colorado
Hickenlooper is a popular former governor of Colorado, and led Gardner by as much as 20 percentage points in polls, with most pundits considering him a heavy favorite. Gardner was Colorado's only Republican statewide officeholder, and the once purple state has trended increasingly Democratic since his narrow win in 2014. Gardner also had low approval ratings due to his strong allegiance to Trump, who lost Colorado in 2016 to Hillary Clinton by 4.9%, and in 2020 to Joe Biden by 13.5%. Hickenlooper also raised significantly more money than Gardner.


2020 United States Senate elections, Delaware
One-term Democrat Chris Coons was reelected in 2014; he first took office after winning a 2010 special election, which occurred after longtime senator Joe Biden resigned to become vice president of the United States (Biden also won the 2020 presidential election and became president). He faced an unsuccessful primary challenge from technology executive Jessica Scarane. Conservative activist Lauren Witzke and attorney Jim DeMartino ran for the Republican nomination.


2020 United States Senate elections, Georgia
Due to Republican Senator Johnny Isakson's resignation from office for health reasons in 2019, both of Georgia's Senate seats were up for election in November 2020. The state had tilted Republican in Senate races since the mid-1990s, but increased support for Democrats in populous suburbs has made office elections more competitive; a close governor's race, multiple close U.S. House races, and many other close local office races resulted in Democratic gains in 2018 elections. Both the regular and special election were considered highly competitive toss-ups. Both of these elections received national attention, as if Republicans won at least one of these seats, they would maintain a Senate majority, but if the Democrats won both, the Senate would be split 50/50 with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie.


2020 United States Senate elections, Georgia, Georgia (regular)
One-term Republican David Perdue was elected in 2014, and sought a second term.


2020 United States Senate elections, Georgia, Georgia (regular)
Jon Ossoff, a former congressional candidate, documentary film producer, and investigative journalist, defeated former Columbus mayor Teresa Tomlinson and 2018 lieutenant governor nominee Sarah Riggs Amico in the Democratic primary to secure nomination. He faced incumbent Republican David Perdue in the November 3 election.


2020 United States Senate elections, Georgia, Georgia (regular)
In the November election, no candidate received 50% or more of the total vote; per Georgia law, the election advanced to a runoff between the top two finishers, Ossoff and Perdue, on January 5, 2021. Ossoff was projected the winner on January 6, and Perdue conceded on January 8.


2020 United States Senate elections, Georgia, Georgia (special)
Three-term Senator Johnny Isakson announced on August 28, 2019, that he would resign from the Senate on December 31, 2019, citing health concerns. Georgia governor Brian Kemp appointed Republican Kelly Loeffler to replace Isakson until a regular election could be held; Loeffler took office on January 6, 2020, and competed in the November 2020 election to retain her seat.


2020 United States Senate elections, Georgia, Georgia (special)
Other Republicans who ran for the seat included Wayne Johnson, former chief operating officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid, and four-term U.S. representative Doug Collins.


2020 United States Senate elections, Georgia, Georgia (special)
A "jungle primary" was held November 3, 2020, but no candidate won more than 50% of the vote, so a runoff election between the top two finishers, Loeffler and Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock, was held on January 5, 2021. Warnock defeated Loeffler, who initially refused to concede and vowed to challenge the outcome, but conceded on January 7, after the storming of the U.S. Capitol.


2020 United States Senate elections, Idaho
Two-term republican Jim Risch successfully ran for a third term in 2020, defeating Democrat Paulette Jordan by a landslide. Jordan is a former gubernatorial nominee and former Coeur d'Alene Tribal Councilwoman.


2020 United States Senate elections, Illinois
Four-term democrat  and Senate minority whip Dick Durbin, easily won a fifth term in office, defeating Republican Mark Curran by a 16-point margin.


2020 United States Senate elections, Illinois
Curran served as sheriff of Lake County from 2006 to 2018 and won the Republican primary with 41.55% of the vote.


2020 United States Senate elections, Illinois
Antiwar activist Marilyn Jordan Lawlor and state representative Anne Stava-Murray briefly challenged Durbin in the Democratic primary, but both ended up withdrawing.


2020 United States Senate elections, Illinois
2019 Chicago mayoral candidate Willie Wilson, a businessman and perennial candidate, ran as a member of the "Willie Wilson Party," with the backing of a handful of Chicago aldermen and the Chicago Police Union.


2020 United States Senate elections, Iowa
One-term republican Joni Ernst, first elected to the Senate in 2014, won a second term in office, defeating Democrat Theresa Greenfield.


2020 United States Senate elections, Iowa
Greenfield won the Democratic nomination, defeating former vice-admiral Michael T. Franken, attorney Kimberly Graham, and businessman Eddie Mauro in the primary.


2020 United States Senate elections, Iowa
Ernst's popularity had dropped in polls, and many considered this seat a possible Democratic pickup, but Ernst was reelected by a larger-than-expected 6.5 points.


2020 United States Senate elections, Kansas
Four-term  Republican Pat Roberts, was reelected in 2014 with 53.15% of the vote and announced on January 4, 2019, that he would not be running for reelection in 2020.


2020 United States Senate elections, Kansas
In the Republican primary, United States representative Roger Marshall defeated former Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, state Turnpike Authority chairman Dave Lindstrom, state senate president Susan Wagle, and others.


2020 United States Senate elections, Kansas
There was considerable speculation about a Senate bid by Mike Pompeo (the United States secretary of state, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and former U.S. representative for Kansas's 4th congressional district), but he did not run.


2020 United States Senate elections, Kansas
Barbara Bollier, a state senator and former Republican, defeated former congressional candidate Robert Tillman for the Democratic nomination, but lost to Marshall with a more than expected 11.4 point margin.


2020 United States Senate elections, Kentucky
Republican Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, defeated Democrat Amy McGrath by 19.6 percentage points, winning a 7th term in office.


2020 United States Senate elections, Louisiana
Republican Bill Cassidy won a second term in office, defeating Democrat Adrian Perkins and others.


2020 United States Senate elections, Louisiana
A Louisiana primary (a form of jungle primary) was held on November 3. Had no candidate won a majority of the vote in the primary, a runoff election would have been held, but Cassidy won in the first round.


2020 United States Senate elections, Maine
Republican Susan Collins won a fifth term in office, defeating Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Sara Gideon.


2020 United States Senate elections, Maine
Gideon consistently led Collins in polls for almost the entire election cycle. Collins is considered one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate and had never faced a competitive reelection campaign, even though Maine leans Democratic. But she faced growing unpopularity due to her increasingly conservative voting record and her votes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and to acquit Trump in his impeachment trial. Despite almost all polling and Gideon's formidable funding, Collins was reelected by a surprising 8.6-point margin.


2020 United States Senate elections, Maine
Educator and activist Lisa Savage also ran as a candidate for the Green party.


2020 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts
Democrat Ed Markey was reelected in 2014, having won a 2013 special election to replace longtime incumbent John Kerry, who resigned to become U.S. secretary of state. He easily won a second full term in 2020, defeating Republican Kevin O'Connor by more than 33 percentage points.


2020 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts
Markey fended off a primary challenge from Joe Kennedy III, four-term U.S. representative for Massachusetts's Fourth District and grandson of former U.S. senator and U.S. attorney general Robert F. Kennedy. This marked the first time a member of the Kennedy family lost an election in Massachusetts.


2020 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts
O'Connor defeated Shiva Ayyadurai, a former independent senate candidate, in the Republican primary.


2020 United States Senate elections, Massachusetts
On August 24, 2020, perennial candidate Vermin Supreme launched a write-in campaign for the Libertarian nomination, but received too few votes to qualify for the general election ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, Michigan
Democrat Gary Peters narrowly won a second term in office, defeating Republican John James.


2020 United States Senate elections, Michigan
James won a Republican Michigan Senate nomination for his second time, having run against incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow in 2018 for Michigan's other senate seat. He faced only token opposition for the 2020 Republican nomination, running against perennial candidate Bob Carr.


2020 United States Senate elections, Minnesota
Incumbent Democrat Tina Smith was appointed to the U.S. Senate to replace Al Franken in 2018 after serving as lieutenant governor, and won a special election later in 2018 to serve the remainder of Franken's term. She defeated Republican Jason Lewis, winning her first full term in office.


2020 United States Senate elections, Mississippi
Incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith won her first full term in office, defeating Democrat and former U.S. secretary of agriculture Mike Espy by 10 percentage points. This race was an exact rematch of the 2018 Mississippi Senate special election, in which Hyde-Smith defeated Espy for the remaining two years of the seat's term.


2020 United States Senate elections, Mississippi
Libertarian candidate Jimmy Edwards also made the general election ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, Montana
Republican Steve Daines won a second term in office, defeating the Democratic nominee, Montana Governor Steve Bullock.


2020 United States Senate elections, Montana
Daines was opposed (before his nomination) in the Republican primary by hardware store manager Daniel Larson and former Democratic speaker of the Montana House of Representatives John Driscoll, who changed parties in 2020.


2020 United States Senate elections, Montana
Bullock won the Democratic nomination, defeating nuclear engineer and U.S. Navy veteran John Mues.


2020 United States Senate elections, Montana
Libertarian and Green party candidates were set to appear on the general election ballot, but the Libertarians refused to nominate a replacement after their nominee withdrew and the Greens' nominee was disqualified.


2020 United States Senate elections, Montana
Once Bullock filed his candidacy, the race became seen as highly competitive. Bullock is a popular governor and a moderate, led in many polls in the spring and summer of 2020, and raised more money than Daines. Closer to election day, Bullock slightly trailed in polls, but the election was still seen as relatively competitive. Daines defeated Bullock by a larger-than-expected 10-point margin.


2020 United States Senate elections, Nebraska
Republican Ben Sasse easily won a second term in office, defeating Democrat Chris Janicek by more than 40 percentage points.


2020 United States Senate elections, Nebraska
Sasse had defeated businessman and former Lancaster County Republican Party chair Matt Innis in the Republican primary with 75.2% of the vote.


2020 United States Senate elections, Nebraska
Businessman and 2018 U.S. Senate candidate Chris Janicek won the Democratic primary with 30.7% of the vote, defeating six other candidates.


2020 United States Senate elections, Nebraska
Libertarian candidate Gene Siadek also appeared on the general election ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, Nebraska
After the primary election, the Nebraska Democratic party withdrew its support from Janicek when allegations that he sexually harassed a campaign staffer emerged. Janicek refused to leave the race despite the state party endorsing his former primary opponent, which led former Democratic Congressman Brad Ashford to announce a write-in campaign on August 23, 2020. After Janicek vowed to remain in the race anyway, Ashford withdrew on August 27, citing lack of time and resources necessary for a U.S. Senate campaign. The state Democratic Party subsequently threw its support behind longtime Nebraska activist Preston Love, Jr., who declared a write-in candidacy for the seat.


2020 United States Senate elections, New Hampshire
Two-term Democrat Jeanne Shaheen won a third term in office by nearly 16 percentage points, defeating Republican Corky Messner.


2020 United States Senate elections, New Hampshire
Messner defeated U.S. Army brigadier general Donald C. Bolduc and perennial candidate Andy Martin for the Republican nomination, winning the nomination on September 8.


2020 United States Senate elections, New Hampshire
Libertarian Justin O'Donnell also appeared on the general election ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, New Jersey
Democrat Cory Booker won a second full term in office, having first won his seat in a 2013 special election after serving seven years as the mayor of Newark. He defeated Republican Rick Mehta by a margin of more than 16 percentage points.


2020 United States Senate elections, New Jersey
Booker had sought his party's nomination for President of the United States in 2020. He suspended his presidential campaign on January 13, 2020, and confirmed his intention to seek a second Senate term.


2020 United States Senate elections, New Jersey
Attorney Rik Mehta defeated engineer Hirsh Singh, 2018 Independent U.S. Senate candidate Tricia Flanagan, 2018 independent U.S. Senate candidate Natalie Lynn Rivera, and Eugene Anagnos for the Republican nomination.


2020 United States Senate elections, New Jersey
Green Party candidate Madelyn Hoffman and two independent candidates also appeared on the general election ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, New Jersey
New Jersey has not elected a Republican senator since 1972, and all pundits expected Booker to be easily reelected.


2020 United States Senate elections, New Mexico
Two-term Democrat Tom Udall was the only incumbent Democratic U.S. senator retiring in 2020. Democratic U.S. representative Ben Ray Luján defeated Republican Mark Ronchetti by 6 percentage points.


2020 United States Senate elections, New Mexico
Ronchetti, the former KRQE chief meteorologist, defeated former U.S. Interior Department official Gavin Clarkson and executive director for the New Mexico Alliance for Life Elisa Martinez in the primary.


2020 United States Senate elections, New Mexico
Libertarian Bob Walsh also appeared on the general election ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, North Carolina
Republican Thom Tillis won a second term in office, defeating Democratic former state senator Cal Cunningham.


2020 United States Senate elections, North Carolina
Cunningham defeated state senator Erica D. Smith and Mecklenburg County commissioner Trevor Fuller for the Democratic nomination. Tillis defeated three opponents.


2020 United States Senate elections, North Carolina
The Libertarian Party and the Constitution Party had candidates on the general election ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, North Carolina
Despite having grown unpopular among both centrist and conservative Republicans due to his inconsistent support of Trump, and trailing narrowly in polls for almost the entire cycle, Tillis won reelection by nearly 2 points.


2020 United States Senate elections, Oklahoma
Republican Jim Inhofe easily won a fifth term in office, defeating Democrat Abby Broyles by more than 30 percentage points.


2020 United States Senate elections, Oklahoma
Inhofe defeated J.J. Stitt, a farmer and gun shop owner, and Neil Mavis, a former Libertarian Party candidate, for the Republican nomination.


2020 United States Senate elections, Oklahoma
Broyles, an attorney, defeated perennial candidate Sheila Bilyeu and 2018 5th congressional district candidate Elysabeth Britt for the Democratic nomination.


2020 United States Senate elections, Oklahoma
Libertarian candidate Robert Murphy and two Independents also appeared on the general election ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, Oklahoma
Oklahoma is one of the most solidly Republican states and Inhofe won in a landslide.


2020 United States Senate elections, Oregon
Democrat Jeff Merkley won a third term in office, defeating Republican Jo Rae Perkins by more than 17 percentage points. Merkley also received the Oregon Independent Party and the Working Families Party nominations.


2020 United States Senate elections, Oregon
Perkins, a 2014 U.S. Senate and 2018 U.S. House candidate, defeated three other candidates in the Republican primary with 49.29% of the vote. She is a supporter of QAnon.


2020 United States Senate elections, Oregon
Ibrahim Taher was also on the general election ballot, representing the Pacific Green Party and the Oregon Progressive Party. Gary Dye represented the Libertarian Party.


2020 United States Senate elections, Rhode Island
Democrat Jack Reed won a fifth term in office, defeating Republican Allen Waters by more than 33 percentage points.


2020 United States Senate elections, Rhode Island
Both Reed and Waters ran unopposed for their respective nominations.


2020 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
Three-term Republican Lindsey Graham won a fourth term in office, defeating Democrat Jaime Harrison by over ten percentage points in a highly publicized race.


2020 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
Graham defeated three opponents in the June 9 Republican primary.


2020 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
After his primary opponents dropped out, former South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Jaime Harrison was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.


2020 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
Bill Bledsoe won the Constitution Party nomination. On October 1, 2020, Bledsoe dropped out of the race and endorsed Graham, but remained on the ballot as required by state law.


2020 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
Despite the significant Republican lean of the state as a whole, polls indicated that the Senate election was competitive, with summer polling ranging from a tie to a modest advantage for Graham. Graham's popularity had declined as a result of his close embrace of Trump, reversing his outspoken criticism of Trump in the 2016 campaign.


2020 United States Senate elections, South Carolina
Graham's victory was by a much larger margin than expected, as part of a broader pattern of Republicans overperforming polls in 2020.


2020 United States Senate elections, South Dakota
Republican Mike Rounds, former governor of South Dakota, won a second term in office, defeating Democrat Dan Ahlers.


2020 United States Senate elections, South Dakota
Rounds faced a primary challenge from state representative Scyller Borglum.


2020 United States Senate elections, South Dakota
Ahlers, a South Dakota state representative, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.


2020 United States Senate elections, South Dakota
One independent candidate, Clayton Walker, filed but failed to qualify for the ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, Tennessee
Three-term Republican Lamar Alexander was reelected in 2014. He announced in December 2018 that he would not seek a fourth term.


2020 United States Senate elections, Tennessee
Assisted by an endorsement from Trump, former ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty won the Republican nomination and the seat.


2020 United States Senate elections, Tennessee
Hagerty defeated orthopedic surgeon Manny Sethi and 13 others in the Republican primary.


2020 United States Senate elections, Tennessee
Environmental activist Marquita Bradshaw of Memphis defeated James Mackler, an Iraq War veteran and Nashville attorney, in the Democratic primary, a major upset.


2020 United States Senate elections, Tennessee
Nine Independent candidates also appeared on the general election ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, Texas
Republican John Cornyn won a fourth term in office, defeating Democrat MJ Hegar by a little less than ten percentage points.


2020 United States Senate elections, Texas
Cornyn defeated four other candidates in the Republican primary, with 76.04% of the vote.


2020 United States Senate elections, Texas
Hegar, an Air Force combat veteran and the 2018 Democratic nominee for Texas's 31st congressional district, defeated runner-up state senator Royce West and 11 other candidates in the Democratic primary. Hegar and West advanced to a primary runoff election on July 14 to decide the nomination, and Hegar prevailed.


2020 United States Senate elections, Texas
The Green and Libertarian Parties also appeared on the general election ballot. Candidates from the Human Rights Party and the People over Politics Party and three independents failed to qualify.


2020 United States Senate elections, Texas
Statewide races in Texas have been growing more competitive in recent years, and polling in August/September showed Cornyn with a lead of 4–10 points over Hegar, with a significant fraction of the electorate still undecided. Cornyn's victory was at the higher end of the polling spectrum.


2020 United States Senate elections, Virginia
Democrat Mark Warner won a third term in office, defeating Republican Daniel Gade.


2020 United States Senate elections, Virginia
Gade, a professor and U.S. Army veteran, defeated teacher Alissa Baldwin and U.S. Army veteran and intelligence officer Thomas Speciale in the Republican primary.


2020 United States Senate elections, West Virginia
Republican Shelley Moore Capito was reelected to a second term in a landslide, defeating Democrat Paula Jean Swearingen by 43 points.


2020 United States Senate elections, West Virginia
Capito was unsuccessfully challenged in the Republican primary by farmer Larry Butcher and Allen Whitt, president of the West Virginia Family Policy Council.


2020 United States Senate elections, West Virginia
Swearingen, an environmental activist and unsuccessful candidate for Senate in 2018, won the Democratic primary, defeating former mayor of South Charleston Richie Robb and former state senator Richard Ojeda, who previously ran for Congress and, briefly, president in 2020.


2020 United States Senate elections, West Virginia
Libertarian candidate David Moran also appeared on the general election ballot.


2020 United States Senate elections, Wyoming
Four-term Republican Mike Enzi announced in May 2019 that he would retire. Republican nominee Cynthia Lummis defeated Democratic nominee Merav Ben-David by more than 46 percentage points.


2020 United States Senate elections, Wyoming
Lummis won the Republican nomination in a field of nine candidates.


2020 United States Senate elections, Wyoming
Ben-David, the chair of the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming, defeated community activists Yana Ludwig and James Debrine, think-tank executive Nathan Wendt, and perennial candidates Rex Wilde and Kenneth R. Casner for the Democratic nomination.


2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona
The 2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona was held on November 3, 2020. Following the death in office of incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John McCain on August 25, 2018, Governor Doug Ducey was required by Arizona law to appoint a Republican to fill the vacant seat until a special election could be held. On September 5, 2018, Ducey appointed former U.S. Senator Jon Kyl to fill McCain's seat. However, Kyl announced he would resign on December 31, 2018.


2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona
On December 18, 2018, Ducey announced that outgoing U.S. Representative Martha McSally would be appointed to fill the seat following Kyl's resignation, which would trigger a special election. McSally was sworn in as the state's junior U.S. Senator on January 3, 2019, less than two months after she was defeated by Democrat Kyrsten Sinema for Arizona's Class 1 U.S. Senate seat. McSally ran to complete the term, defeating skincare executive Daniel McCarthy in the Republican primary. She faced former astronaut Mark Kelly, who ran uncontested in the Democratic primary. Primary elections took place on August 4, 2020.


2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona
Once a solidly Republican state, Arizona trended more purple in the late 2010s. Kelly significantly outraised McSally and led by about 5% in the average poll leading up to Election Day.


2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona
Kelly defeated McSally by a margin of 2.4% on election night, thereby flipping the seat Democratic. As a result, he outperformed Joe Biden in the concurrent presidential election, who defeated President Donald Trump by 0.3%, but underperformed his polling average. Kelly became the first Democrat to win the Class 3 Senate seat since Carl Hayden won his last term in 1962. This also marked the first time since the 82nd Congress preceding the 1952 election that Democrats held both Senate seats in Arizona.


2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona, Republican primary
Incumbent McSally faced one challenger: Daniel McCarthy, a skincare company executive. Upon his respective announcements, McCarthy's independent wealth was expected to set up a bruising and expensive primary campaign, however, McSally won the primary in a landslide.


2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona, Libertarian primary
Neither one of the write-in candidates received enough votes to secure the Libertarian nomination in the general election.


2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona, General election, Results, By county
Mark Kelly only flipped one county that the Democrats had not won in 2016, winning Maricopa County. However, as Maricopa makes up about 62% of Arizona's population, this victory was enough to gave him a lead McSally could not catch up on.


2020 United States Shadow Representative election in the District of Columbia
The 2020 Shadow Representative election in the District of Columbia took place on November 3, 2020, to elect a shadow member to the United States House of Representatives to represent the District of Columbia. Unlike non-voting delegates, the shadow representative is only recognized by the District of Columbia and is not officially sworn or seated.


2020 United States Shadow Representative election in the District of Columbia
ANC Commissioner Oye Owolewa won the election to replace retiring three-term incumbent shadow representative Franklin Garcia.


2020 United States Shadow Senator election in the District of Columbia
The 2020 United States Senate election in the District of Columbia took place on November 3, 2020, to elect a shadow member to the United States Senate to represent the District of Columbia. The member is only recognized by the District of Columbia and is not officially sworn or seated by the United States Senate.


2020 United States Shadow Senator election in the District of Columbia, Primary elections
The party primaries took place on June 2, 2020. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic voting by mail was encouraged. Democrat Paul Strauss, the incumbent shadow senator, and D.C. Statehood Green candidate Eleanor Ory were unopposed in their party primaries. Cornelia Weiss won a write-in campaign in the Republican primary.


2020 United States Virgin Islands constitutional convention referendum
A referendum on holding a constitutional convention was held in the US Virgin Islands on 3 November 2020 alongside general elections. 72% of voters responding to the referendum quesiton voted in favour and turnout was above the threshold required.


2020 United States Virgin Islands constitutional convention referendum, Background
The islands' first constitutional convention was held from 1964 to 1965 after members were elected in 1964. Although the convention approved a draft constitution in February 1965, it was not adopted by the United States Congress, although some elements became law. A second convention was held in 1971–1972, and although the draft constitution was approved by a majority of voters in a 1972 referendum, VI delegate Ron de Lugo believed the low turnout meant the constitution did not have sufficient mandate from the people and did not take it to Congress.


2020 United States Virgin Islands constitutional convention referendum, Background
The third constitution convention was held between 1977 and 1978, but this time voters rejected the draft document in a 1979 referendum. A fourth convention was held in 1980, with the draft again rejected by voters in a 1981 referendum. The fifth convention was held in 2009, but failed to agree on a draft by 2012 and was dissolved.


2020 United States Virgin Islands constitutional convention referendum, Background
On 7 May 2020 the Legislature passed law 8308, which proposed a referendum on electing a constitutional convention. Governor Albert Bryan signed the law the following day. In order for the convention to be called, at least 50% of voters participating in the general election had to answer the referendum question, and a majority of those answering it had to vote in favour.


2020 United States Virgin Islands constitutional convention referendum, Results
A total of 18,130 voters participated in the general election, of which 10,115 (56%) answered the referendum question. With a majority of those voting also voting in favour, the proposal was approved.


2020 United States Women's Curling Championship
The 2020 United States Women's Curling Championship was held from February 8 to 15, 2020 at the Eastern Washington University Recreation Center in Spokane, Washington. The event was held in conjunction with the 2020 United States Men's Curling Championship. In the final, Tabitha Peterson defeated Jamie Sinclair 7–5.


2020 United States Women's Curling Championship
Since Team Peterson met certain prerequisites in terms of world ranking points (60 points year-to-date or ranked 70th or higher) they would have represented the United States at the 2020 World Women's Curling Championship, which was scheduled to be held in Prince George, British Columbia. The tournament was canceled due to COVID-19; as the 2021 United States Championship has been delayed to May 2021 due to COVID-19, the 2020 champions will represent the United States at the 2021 World Women's Curling Championship. Team Peterson will also appear in the 2021 Grand Slam of Curling Champions Cup in 2021.


2020 United States Women's Curling Championship, Qualification
There were three ways for teams to qualify for the championship:


2020 United States Women's Curling Championship, Qualification, Challenge Round
Eight teams competed at the 2020 United States Women's Challenge Round, held at the Heather Curling Club in Mapleton, Minnesota, from January 3 to 5. Through a triple knockout competition the top three teams secured a spot at the National Championship. Two-time Junior Champion Christine McMakin was the first to secure a spot, defeating fellow junior curler Ariel Traxler in the 'A' bracket final. Traxler dropped down to the 'B' bracket final and had another opportunity to play for a spot in the Nationals, this time earning her spot by defeating Ann Podoll 8–4. Podoll then dropped to the 'C' bracket final where she defeated Stephanie Senneker to secure the third and final Nationals berth.


2020 United States Women's Curling Championship, Teams
Eight teams participated in the 2020 national championship. Team McMakin and Team Podoll changed names to Team Lank and Team Workin, respectively, due to line-up changes.


2020 United States Women's Curling Championship, Round robin results
All draw times are listed in Pacific Standard Time (UTC−08:00).


2020 United States attorney general elections
The 2020 United States Attorney General elections were held on November 3, 2020, in 10 states. The previous Attorney General elections for this group of states took place in 2016, except in Vermont where Attorneys General only serve two-year terms and elected their current Attorney General in 2018. Nine state Attorneys General ran for reelection and eight won, while Republican Tim Fox of Montana could not run again due to term limits and Republican Curtis Hill of Indiana was eliminated in the Republican convention.


2020 United States attorney general elections
The elections took place concurrently with the 2020 presidential election, elections to the House of Representatives and Senate, and numerous state and local elections.


2020 United States attorney general elections, Election predictions
Several sites and individuals published predictions of competitive seats. These predictions looked at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election), the strength of the candidates, and the partisan leanings of the state (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assigned ratings to each seat, with the rating indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.


2020 United States attorney general elections, Statistics, Closest races
States where the margin of victory was between 1% and 5%:


2020 United States attorney general elections, Indiana
The 2020 Indiana Attorney General election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the Attorney General of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Democratic primary convention was scheduled for June 13, 2020. The Republican primary convention was scheduled with a live stream on June 18, 2020, followed by mail-in voting between June 22 and July 9.


2020 United States attorney general elections, Missouri
The 2020 Missouri Attorney General election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the Attorney General of Missouri. It was held concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, along with elections to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives, as well as various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt was elected to a full term. He was appointed by Governor Mike Parson after Josh Hawley was elected to the U.S Senate in 2018.


2020 United States attorney general elections, Montana
The 2020 Montana Attorney General election will be held on November 3, 2020, to elect the Attorney General of the U.S. state of Montana. Incumbent Republican Montana Attorney General Tim Fox was re-elected in 2016 with 67.7% of the vote. Fox is term-limited and cannot run for re-election. Fox decided to run for the Governor of Montana election.


2020 United States attorney general elections, North Carolina
The 2020 North Carolina Attorney General election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the Attorney General of North Carolina, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.


2020 United States attorney general elections, North Carolina
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, first elected in 2016, ran for re-election against Republican Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill. With a narrow margin separating Stein and O'Neill, the Associated Press was finally able to call Stein the winner on Nov. 17, 2020 (two weeks after Election Day).


2020 United States attorney general elections, North Carolina, Democratic primary
This primary was canceled because Attorney General Josh Stein was uncontested.


2020 United States attorney general elections, Oregon
The 2020 Oregon Attorney General election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the Attorney General of Oregon. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum was originally appointed to the role by former Governor John Kitzhaber on June 29, 2012 to finish the term of her predecessor John Kroger, who resigned from office. She was elected to a full term in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. This office is not subject to term limits, and Rosenblum won a third full term, defeating Republican activist Michael Cross who led an unsuccessful 2019 attempt to recall Governor Kate Brown.


2020 United States attorney general elections, Pennsylvania
The 2020 Pennsylvania Attorney General was held on November 3, 2020. Primary elections were originally due to take place on April 28, 2020. However, following concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States including Pennsylvania, the primaries were delayed until June 2, 2020. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro defeated Republican Heather Heidelbaugh to win a second term.


2020 United States attorney general elections, Utah
The 2020 Utah Attorney General election was held on November 3, 2020 along with several federal and state elections.


2020 United States attorney general elections, Utah
Incumbent Attorney General Sean Reyes was re-elected to a third term, defeating Democratic nominee Greg Skordas and Libertarian nominee Rudy Bautista.


2020 United States attorney general elections, Vermont
The 2020 Vermont Attorney General election was held on November 3, 2020 along with several federal and state elections.


2020 United States attorney general elections, Washington
The 2020 Washington Attorney General election was held on November 3, 2020 along with several federal and state elections.


2020 United States attorney general elections, Washington
Incumbent Attorney General Bob Ferguson was re-elected to a third term.


2020 United States attorney general elections, West Virginia
The 2020 West Virginia Attorney General election was held on November 3, 2020 along with several federal and state elections.


2020 United States attorney general elections, West Virginia
Republican incumbent Patrick Morrisey was re-elected with 51.63% of the vote in 2016 and successfully sought re-election.


2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States Census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first US census to offer options to respond online or by phone, in addition to the paper response form used for previous censuses. The census recorded a resident population of 331,449,281, an increase of 7.4 percent, or 22,703,743, over the preceding decade. The growth rate was the second-lowest ever recorded, and the net increase was the sixth highest in history. This is the first census where the ten most populous states each surpassed 10 million residents.


2020 United States census, Background
As required by the United States Constitution, the U.S. census has been conducted every ten years since 1790. The 2010 United States census was the previous census completed. All persons in the U.S. age 18 years and older are legally obligated to answer census questions, and to do so truthfully (Title 13 of the United States Code). Personally identifiable information is private and the Census Bureau itself will never release it. However, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) could release the original census returns in 2092, if the 72-year rule is not changed before then.


2020 United States census, Background
On census reference day, April 1, 2020, the resident United States population (50 states + DC, excluding overseas territories, military members stationed abroad and civilian U.S. citizens living abroad) was projected to be 329.5 million, a 6.7% increase from the 2010 census.


2020 United States census, Purpose, Reapportionment
The results of the 2020 census determine the number of seats for each state in the House of Representatives, and hence also the number of electors for each state in the Electoral College, for elections from 2022 to 2030.


2020 United States census, Purpose, Reapportionment
The Census Bureau announced the apportionment figures on April 26, 2021. Thirteen states will see changes in congressional seats:


2020 United States census, Purpose, Reapportionment
This represented a smaller number of seats shifting than was forecast by independent analysts.


2020 United States census, Purpose, Redistricting
State and local officials use census counts to redraw boundaries for districts like congressional districts (redistricting), state legislative districts, and school districts.


2020 United States census, Purpose, Federal funding distribution
Dozens of federal programs use census data to help direct funding to state and local areas. Census results help determine how more than $675 billion in federal funding is allocated to states and communities each year for roads, schools, hospitals (health clinics), emergency services, and more.


2020 United States census, Major design changes
The 2020 census is the first U.S. census to offer a full internet response option and the first to extensively use technology instead of paper to manage and conduct field work.


2020 United States census, Questions and data uses
As required by the Census Act, the U.S. Census Bureau submitted a list of questions to Congress on March 29, 2018. The U.S. census will not share any participant's information with any government agency, as it is prohibited by Title 13 United States code. It has been challenged, however the Supreme Court has always prevailed in reference to Title 13 to protect the confidentiality and privacy of information provided. Based on those questions and a subsequent executive order, the 2020 census asked:


2020 United States census, Response rates
According to the Census Bureau, 60.0% of all U.S. households had submitted their census questionnaire by May 22, 2020—either online, by mail or by phone. Most U.S. households were mailed an invitation letter between March 12–20 to self-respond. They account for more than 95% of all U.S. households. Prior to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the remaining 5% of U.S. households (mostly in rural areas) were supposed to be visited by census takers in April/May, dropping off invitation letters to owners. This was delayed, but most census offices restarted work again in mid-May. By July 14, 2020, the self-response rate was 62.1% or 91,800,000 households. The self-response rate in 2010 was 66.5% and 67.4% in 2000.


2020 United States census, Response rates
In an update published October 19, 2020, the Census Bureau stated 99.98% of addresses had been accounted for, with all but one state over a 99.9% rate. Paper responses postmarked on or before October 15 will be processed, as long as they arrived at the processing center by October 22.


2020 United States census, Marketing and partnerships
As in previous censuses, the 2020 census relied on a network of trusted voices nationwide to help raise awareness, answer questions, and encourage community members to participate. Hundreds of local "complete count committees" are dedicating resources to the efforts nationwide.


2020 United States census, Marketing and partnerships
VMLY&R (formerly Young & Rubicam) secured the Integrated Communications Contract for the 2020 census campaign in August 2016. As the contract's primary agency of record, VMLY&R created an integrated team for this project, Team Y&R, which includes subcontractors specializing in minority outreach, digital media, earned media and more.


2020 United States census, Marketing and partnerships
In March 2019, the campaign unveiled the 2020 census tagline: "Shape your future. START HERE." The tagline was based on research that demonstrated which types of messages will reach and motivate all populations, including segments of the population who are historically hard to count.


2020 United States census, Jobs
The Census Bureau was expected to hire about half a million temporary workers for the 2020 census, including census takers, address listers, office staff, partnership specialists and more.


2020 United States census, Implementation problems
The printing company Cenveo won the $61 million contract in October 2017 to produce census forms and reminders, but went bankrupt less than four months later. The inspector general of the U.S. Government Publishing Office said the agency failed to check the company's financial status, and improperly allowed the company to lower its bid after other bids were unsealed.


2020 United States census, Implementation problems
The coronavirus pandemic caused delays to census field operations and counts of the homeless and people living in group quarters. As of April 1, 2020, Census Day, the Census Bureau still planned to complete the count by the end of the year.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
On March 18, 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau issued a press release by Director Steven D. Dillingham announcing that 2020 census field operations would be suspended for two weeks until April 1, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 27, 2020, the agency announced it would temporarily suspend in-person interviews for its on-going surveys. The agency claimed that staffing adjustments at its call centers due to implementing health guidance had "led to increases in call wait times, affecting different languages at different times". According to its own documentation, the U.S. Census Bureau continued to pay 2020 census employees even though field operations were supposed to be suspended.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
On March 28, 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau issued another press release announcing 2020 census field operations would be suspended for an additional two weeks, through April 15, 2020. Census Bureau officials communicated to the media that on March 27, 2020, they learned an employee had tested positive for COVID-19 at the agency's National Processing Center in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which the agency kept open during the suspension, claiming they would "transition to the minimum number of on-site staff necessary to continue operations". The agency announced on April 10, 2020, that it took steps to make "more employees available to respond to requests" at the call centers.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
In a joint statement on April 13, 2020, U.S. Department of Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham announced further operational adjustments to the 2020 census due to COVID-19 health and safety concerns. In the statement, it was explained that "steps [were] being taken to reactivate field offices beginning June 1, 2020", "in-person activities, including all interaction with the public, enumeration, office work and processing activities, [would] incorporate the most current guidance to promote the health and safety of staff and the public" including "personal protective equipment (PPE) and social distancing practices".


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
This release stated "in order to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the 2020 census, the Census Bureau is seeking statutory relief from Congress of 120 additional calendar days to deliver final apportionment counts" due to the COVID-19 emergency, and that "under this plan, the Census Bureau would extend the window for field data collection and self-response to October 31, 2020, which will allow for apportionment counts to be delivered to the president by April 30, 2021, and redistricting data to be delivered to the states no later than September 30, 2021."


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
On April 15, 2020, U.S. Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham wrote to Department of Commerce inspector general Peggy E. Gustafson responding to a March 12, 2020, memo sent by the Office of the Inspector General requesting information about the Census Bureau's plans to respond to the COVID-19 emergency by March 20, 2020. The inspector general's memo asked how the Bureau would address staff and enumerator safety. Dillingham's April 15 letter:


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
"The Census Bureau is closely coordinating the acquisition of needed PPE materials for field and office staff through the Department of Commerce's Coronavirus Taskforce. Federal partners include the Department of Homeland Security and the Centers for Disease Control. We have generated and submitted estimates for equipment needs. On April 15, 2020, the Agency’s internal task force met and discussed our estimates for needed equipment, potential delivery dates, and budget implications. We continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments as necessary."


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
To ensure the completeness and accuracy of the 2020 census, the Census Bureau is seeking statutory relief from Congress of 120 additional calendar days to deliver final apportionment counts.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
Under this plan, the Census Bureau would extend the window for field data collection and self-response to October 31, 2020, which will allow for apportionment counts to be delivered to the President by April 30, 2021, and redistricting data to be delivered to the states no later than September 30, 2021.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
A revised timeline reflecting these changes can be found at this link: https://2020census.gov/en/news-events/operational-adjustments-covid-19.html.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
The Task Force and my senior leadership team continue to monitor and study the situation and to recommend operational and other changes to me and to the Secretary.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
On April 24, 2020, Dillingham and other Census Bureau officials briefed the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on the agency's response to the COVID-19 emergency. This briefing came after many requests from the committee since March 12, 2020, including a last minute cancellation on April 20, 2020.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
In the briefing, Albert E. Fontenot Jr., the associate director for decennial census programs, explained that the bureau was planning a "phased start to many of our census operations" rather than beginning field operations nationwide on June 1, 2020, as previously announced and said operations would resume at different times in different areas of the country based on federal, state, and local public health guidance, as well as the availability of personal protective equipment, prioritizing reopening mail processing centers and census offices, and said the bureau would notify Congress as it begins to restart operations. However, the National Processing Center and Area Census Offices had remained open.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
Starting on May 4, 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau began publishing dates as it claimed to begin a "phased restart of some 2020 census field operations in select geographic areas" and said they had "ordered personal protective equipment (PPE) for all field staff, including those that work in a field office. These materials will be secured and provided to staff prior to restarting operations."


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
Publicly published procurement data shows that an award was signed on April 28, 2020, for non-medical, reusable face masks for area census offices in a $5,001,393.60 contract awarded to Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Inc. Around that time, two contracts for hand sanitizer were awarded to Travis Association for the Blind, one signed on May 9, 2020, in a $57,390.00 contract and the other signed on May 13, 2020, in a $557,251.20 contract, with both contracts listing the place of principal performance as Jeffersonville, Indiana.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
The agency decided that face shields were necessary to protect employees from COVID-19 exposure, but provided them only to personnel at the headquarters and national processing centers. An OSHA complaint was made from Oklahoma City on May 1, 2020, complaining that employees were not able to practice social distancing and were not provided with adequate personal protective equipment such as gloves and masks, showing the office was open prior to the Census Bureau's published office restart date of May 4, 2020.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
Additional "restart" dates starting May 18 were published on May 15, 2020, for other geographic areas in eleven states. An OSHA complaint was recorded that same day from St. Louis, Missouri, that desks remained close together with no physical dividers, improper sanitation practices were being used, and no telework for high-risk employees. The published restart date for the St. Louis Area Census Office was May 11, 2020.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
On May 21, 2020, procurement information for two contracts was entered into the Federal Procurement Data System, one contract was for $1,502,928.00 awarded to Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Inc. for hand sanitizer, and a contract for $7,053,569.85 for four-ounce (118 ml) hand sanitizers awarded to NewView Oklahoma, Inc. both with the place of principal performance listed as Jeffersonville, Indiana.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
May 22, 2020, saw two additional contracts, one was a disinfectant wipes contract for $3,137,533.00 awarded to Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Inc. and the other was a contract for $2,107,000.00 awarded to NewView Oklahoma for blue nitrile gloves, both with a place of principal performance listed as Jeffersonville, Indiana.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
On May 22, 2020, another press release published ten additional states with announced "restart" dates of May 25. An OSHA complaint was made from Concord, California, on April 3, 2020, that there were at least two confirmed cases of COVID-19 unrecorded on OSHA 300 logs and that employees were working in close quarters with no disinfection of shared equipment such as headsets, laptops, and tablets. The published restart date for the Concord, California, Area Census Office was May 25, 2020.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
Offices were reopened in the areas of "American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands in preparation for resuming operations for the 2020 Island Areas Censuses" on May 22, 2020.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
On May 29, 2020, a press release was published announcing "restart" of operations in seven additional states and the Washington, D.C., area starting from the week of June 1. An OSHA complaint was made from Austin, Texas, on May 27, 2020, complaining that CDC guidelines were not being followed, that employees were unable to practice social distancing, and that employees experiencing flu-like symptoms and positive COVID-19 test results continued to come to work, showing the office was open prior to the Census Bureau's published office restart date of June 1, 2020.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
In a June 5, 2020, press release, the U.S. Census Bureau announced additional area census offices would "restart" on June 8, saying that with "these additions, field activities have restarted in 247 of 248 area census offices stateside, all ACOs in Puerto Rico and the island areas, and 98.9% of the nation's update leave workload will have resumed." The June 5 press release was reissued on June 9, 2020, which included the addition of a June 11 "restart" at the Window Rock, Arizona, Area Census Office. Days later, the Navajo Nation began reinstating lockdown restrictions and curfews due to a surge in new cases.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
A June 12, 2020, press release shared that the update leave (UL) operation had resumed, as well as fingerprinting of selected applicants. The agency announced that the update enumerate (UE) operation would restart on June 14 "in remote parts of northern Maine and southeast Alaska" where employees update the Census Bureau's address list and interview households for the 2020 census, claiming "all census takers have been trained on social distancing protocols, and will be issued personal protective equipment (PPE) and will follow local guidelines for their use."


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
The June 12 press release also shared that the communications campaign had been adapted due to the pandemic and would continue through October, "the end of 2020 census data collection operations", with additional paid media planned for July, August and September, though a July 15 list of media vendors showed only plans through the end of July.


2020 United States census, COVID-19 pandemic emergency
On August 3, 2020, the Census Bureau announced that field collection would end on September 30, rather than October 31 as planned in April. In a leaked internal document, Census Bureau career officials determined that starting Nonresponse Followup Operations in this Replan would put the health and safety of employees at risk, stating, "These ACOs will have to deploy staff regardless of the COVID-19 risk in those areas to open on these dates." On September 8, 2020, Mark H. Zabarsky, Principal Assistant Inspector General for Audit and Evaluation published an alert on behalf of the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, which stated that the number of COVID-19 related safety issues raised by hotline complaints tripled between July 1 and August 21.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate
The U.S. decennial census is used to determine federal funds, grants, and support to states. The Census Bureau had included a citizenship question until 1950 when it was removed, though it continued to include a question asking about place of birth. In a January 2018 memo, an initial evaluation by Census Bureau officials advised against such a question, saying that compiling citizenship data from existing administrative records is more accurate and far less expensive. However, Wilbur Ross, secretary of the United States Department of Commerce which oversees the Census Bureau, decided the administrative approach alone would not be sufficient.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate
The Census Bureau announced in March 2018 its plan to add a question related to citizenship for the 2020 census: "Is this person a citizen of the United States?". For the 2020 census, Ross told Congress the citizenship numbers were necessary to enforce the Voting Rights Act's protection against voting discrimination. Ross was accused by Democrats in Congress of lying that the citizenship question was requested by the Justice Department and approved by him.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate
Upon the bureau's announcement, several state and city officials criticized the decision, reiterating the concern about discouraging participation from immigrants, resulting in undercounting, and questioning the motives of Secretary Ross in adding the question. Three simultaneous separate federal lawsuits came out of this discovery, occurring at the district courts of New York, Maryland, and California.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate
During the controversy over the census question, the Census Bureau ran a test census in June 2019 on about 480,000 households to determine what effects adding the census question would have on participation, and to prepare the bureau, its staffing, and its counting measurements, to handle the potential lack of responses due to the citizenship question.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate
During these trials, documents released in May 2019 showed that the late Thomas B. Hofeller, an architect of Republican gerrymandering, had found that adding the census question could help to gerrymander maps that "would be advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites". Hofeller later wrote the DOJ letter which justified the policy by claiming it was needed to enforce the 1965 Voting Rights Act.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate
Following this discovery, the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform issued subpoenas for the Department of Justice to provide materials related to the census question and to question both Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and United States Attorney General William Barr, seeking action to judge if they are in contempt. The Trump administration on June 12, 2019, asserted executive privilege over portions of the requested documents. As a result, the House committee subsequently voted along party lines to hold both Ross and Barr in contempt that day. The full House voted to hold Ross and Barr in contempt on July 17, 2019, in a 230–198 vote along party lines. Despite this passage, the measure will likely not have any effect on Ross and Barr unless the Justice Department takes legal actions against Ross or Barr.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, New York District Court and subsequent Supreme Court case
A lawsuit, led by New York state's attorney general Barbara Underwood and joined by seventeen other states, fifteen cities and other civil rights groups, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. During the discovery phase of the trial, new information came to light that Ross had had previous discussions with Steve Bannon before March 2018 with the intent to add the citizenship question, contradicting statements he had made to Congress in March. This led district judge Jesse M. Furman in September 2018 to ask that Ross clear a day in his schedule to give a deposition to the court related to the addition of the census question prior to the planned start of the trial in November.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, New York District Court and subsequent Supreme Court case
The Trump administration filed a writ of mandamus to the United States Supreme Court, requesting that they postpone the trial, and also to defer any involvement with Ross until the start of the trial. The Supreme Court issued an order that allowed the trial United States Census Bureau v. State of New York to go forward, but agreed to postpone Ross's deposition until after the start of the trial.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, New York District Court and subsequent Supreme Court case
The Supreme Court also agreed to treat the writ of mandamus as a writ of petition, and granted certiorari to review the question raised by the government of whether a district court can request deposition of a high-ranking executive branch official on a matter related to a trial before evidence has been presented.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, New York District Court and subsequent Supreme Court case
Judge Furman ruled in January 2019 that the addition of the citizenship question to the census was unlawful, saying "the decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census – even if it did not violate the Constitution itself – was unlawful for a multitude of independent reasons and must be set aside."


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, New York District Court and subsequent Supreme Court case
The Justice department filed a petition for writ of certiorari before judgment to have the case directly heard by the Supreme Court and bypass the normal appeal which would have been heard by the Second Circuit, given the pending deadline of June 2019 to publish the census forms. The Supreme Court accepted the petition related to Furman's ruling on February 15, 2019, a separate matter from the question of Ross's deposition, and the case's oral arguments were heard on April 23, 2019.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, New York District Court and subsequent Supreme Court case
The Supreme Court issued its decision on June 27, 2019, rejecting the Trump administration's stated rationale for including the question. While the Court majority agreed that the question was allowable under the Enumeration Act, they also agreed with the ability of the District Court to ask Commerce for further explanation for the question under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). They also agreed that the answers Commerce had provided at the time appeared to be "contrived" and pretextual, leaving open the possibility that Commerce could offer a better rationale.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, New York District Court and subsequent Supreme Court case
The case was remanded back to the District Court, to give Commerce the opportunity to provide better explanation for the rationale of the question to the District Court, who would deem if that was sufficient before allowing the question on the census. The question would be allowed on the census only if these steps can be completed before the self-imposed form printing deadline.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, New York District Court and subsequent Supreme Court case
On July 7, the DOJ announced that it was replacing its entire legal team dealing with that question, but on July 9, Furman rejected the DOJ action, saying reasons must be given for the withdrawal of each attorney and that the administration had been insisting for months the question needed to be settled by July 1.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, New York District Court and subsequent Supreme Court case
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has taken steps to introduce the Hofeller evidence into the New York case but it will not be heard until late 2019, after the census forms are to be published.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, California District Court case
The second suit over the census question came in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California under Judge Richard Seeborg, raised by the state of California and several cities within it. In March 2019, Seeborg similarly found as Furman had in New York that the addition of the census question was unconstitutional and issued an injunction to block its use. The government appealed to the Ninth Circuit before the Supreme Court remanded the case.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, Maryland District Court case
A similar question related to the intent of the question was raised by several immigrants-rights groups in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. The case was overseen by Judge George J. Hazel in the District of Maryland. Hazel had found for the pro-immigration groups in April 2019, ruling that the addition of an immigration question to the census was unconstitutional. The government issued its appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, Maryland District Court case
The new Hofeller evidence was presented to Hazel as the case was being heard on appeal during June 2019 at the Fourth Circuit. Hazel said the new evidence "raises a substantial issue". On June 25, 2019, the Fourth Circuit remanded the case back to Hazel's District Court with the newly provided evidence, and to review if the additional evidence showed discriminatory intent.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, Maryland District Court case
Should Hazel find such intent, it would be possible for him to place an injunction on the addition of the census question during a new discovery phase, regardless of the Supreme Court decision in Department of Commerce v. New York. This action would effectively render the question moot since the census forms would need to be published at this point without the citizenship question to meet the mailing deadlines.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, Subsequent actions
President Trump, after the Supreme Court decision in Department of Commerce was announced, stated his intent to find a way to delay the census as long as possible so the judicial matter could be resolved. On July 2, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the citizenship question would not be included in the census, and the Commerce Department began printing census forms without a citizenship question. However, the next day, Trump insisted his administration was "absolutely moving forward" with the citizenship question, and the Justice Department confirmed in court that it had been instructed to find a legal way to include it in the census.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, Subsequent actions
In response to an order from Judge Hazel, the Justice Department affirmed on July 5, 2019, that it will be seeking a route to add the citizenship question to the census, though at the time did not know which route it would take. Hazel had ordered this response as, if the department was intending to add the question, he could begin determining a schedule in coordination with Judge Furman in the New York court for further proceedings and discovery in both the New York and the Maryland lawsuits.


2020 United States census, Citizenship question debate, Subsequent actions
On July 7, the DOJ announced its intention to replace its entire legal team on the case, but Furman allowed the DOJ to dismiss only two of its eleven attorneys, writing in the July 9 rejection that the DOJ had "provide[d] no reasons, let alone 'satisfactory reasons', for the substitution of counsel". Furman pointed out that the case had already run past the DOJ's own previously requested deadline of July 1 and replacing counsel would cause further delays.