2020 American Samoa Democratic presidential caucuses explained

Election Name:2020 American Samoa Democratic presidential caucuses
Country:American Samoa
Type:primary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2016 American Samoa Democratic caucuses
Previous Year:2016
Election Date:March 3, 2020
Next Year:2024
Next Election:2024 American Samoa Democratic presidential caucuses
Turnout:2.2% (registered voters)[1] 0.7 pp
Outgoing Members:AL
Elected Members:AR
Votes For Election:11 Democratic National Convention delegates (6 pledged, 5 unpledged)
The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote
Candidate1:Michael Bloomberg
Home State1:New York
Delegate Count1:4
Popular Vote1:175
Percentage1:49.9%
Color1:9370db
Candidate2:Tulsi Gabbard
Color2:ff69b4
Home State2:Hawaii
Popular Vote2:103
Percentage2:29.3%
Delegate Count2:2
Candidate4:Bernie Sanders
Color4:228b22
Home State4:Vermont
Popular Vote4:37
Percentage4:10.5%
Delegate Count4:0
Candidate5:Joe Biden
Color5:224192
Home State5:Delaware
Popular Vote5:31
Percentage5:8.8%
Delegate Count5:0

The 2020 American Samoa Democratic presidential caucuses took place on March 3, 2020, alongside 14 state primaries on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries and caucuses for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The American Samoa caucus was an open caucus, with the territory awarding 11 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 6 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the caucus. Former mayor Michael Bloomberg won the caucus and netted four delegates (his only primary win), with representative Tulsi Gabbard coming in second, and winning her only two delegates.[2] [3]

Procedure

When the American Samoa Democratic Party had published its draft delegate selection plan on July 3, 2019, it specified a Super Tuesday, March 3 date for the 2020 caucus; this date was finally declared via Facebook on February 1, 2020.[4] [5]

In the open caucus, candidates had to meet a threshold of 15 percent across the territory to be considered viable. The six pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention were allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the caucus, and were all at-large pledged delegates.[6] The Super Tuesday caucus as part of Stage I on the primary timetable received no bonus delegates, in order to disperse the primaries and caucuses between more different date clusters and keep too many states from hoarding on the first shared date or on a March date in general.[7]

The delegation also included five unpledged PLEO delegates: four members of the Democratic National Committee and the governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga.[6]

Candidates

The following people were on the ballot in American Samoa.[5]

Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Deval Patrick, Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang had withdrawn shortly before the caucus but remained on the ballot. Kamala Harris had withdrawn early so that she was not put on the ballot.[5] However, none of the withdrawn candidates or the existing uncommitted option received any votes.

Campaign

According to The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg's campaign made a relatively significant investment in the caucus: Bloomberg's campaign opened a campaign headquarters in the territory and hired seven staffers in America Samoa. His campaign put up campaign signs that read Mike Bloomberg mo Amerika Samoa 2020 (English translation: "Mike Bloomberg for American Samoa 2020") and invested heavily in digital advertising on Facebook.

Samoan chief Fa’alagiga Nina Tua’au-Glaude, a 2008 Barack Obama delegate, endorsed Bloomberg a day before the contest, citing his policies on climate change in particular as a reason for his endorsement.[8] Bloomberg's victory over Gabbard, who was born in the territory, was regarded as an upset victory, and was credited to Gabbard's late start in campaigning on the island.[9]

Results

See also: Results of the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.

2020 American Samoa Democratic presidential caucus[10] [11] ! Candidate! Votes! %! Delegates
Michael Bloomberg17549.864
Tulsi Gabbard10329.342
Bernie Sanders3710.54rowspan="4"
Joe Biden318.83
Elizabeth Warren51.42
Uncommitted00.00
Total351100%6

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020 EAVS Data Brief: American Samoa.
  2. Web site: Gabbard claims her first delegates of primary race. Tal. Axelrod. March 3, 2020. The Hill.
  3. Web site: Tulsi Gabbard is still running for president. Kate. Sullivan. March 5, 2020. CNN.
  4. Web site: Putnam. Josh. The 2020 Presidential Primary Calendar. Frontloading HQ. September 7, 2019.
  5. Web site: Democratic Party of American Samoa. Facebook. 2020-02-01. 2020-03-02.
  6. Web site: American Samoa Democratic Delegation 2020. The Green Papers. June 4, 2019. June 23, 2019.
  7. Web site: Democratic Timing Penalties and Bonuses. The Green Papers. November 24, 2021. March 19, 2022.
  8. Web site: Coleman . Justine . 2020-03-02 . Samoan chief endorses Bloomberg for president . 2022-08-06 . . en-US.
  9. News: Elinson . Zusha . 2020-03-06 . Mike Bloomberg's $620 Million Campaign Did Really Well—in American Samoa . en-US . . 2022-08-06 . 0099-9660.
  10. Web site: American Samoa Caucus Results | 2020 Presidential Primary Elections. www.nbcnews.com.
  11. Web site: View American Samoa's 2020 caucus results. www.cnn.com.