2020 North Dakota gubernatorial election
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| Turnout | 62.65% | |||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Burgum: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Lenz: 50-60% 60-70% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in North Dakota |
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 Federal government |
 State government |
The 2020 North Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota, concurrently with other federal and statewide elections, including the U.S. presidential election.[1] Incumbent Republican Governor Doug Burgum and Lieutenant Governor Brent Sanford were both re-elected to a second term.
Republican primary[]
The Republican Party held a state convention in the spring to endorse a single gubernatorial candidate. That candidate and his or her running mate were automatically placed on the primary election ballot. Endorsed candidates may or may not face competition from other candidates placed there by petition—as incumbent governor Burgum did in 2016. The winner of the primary appears on the general election ballot. All primary elections in North Dakota are open to all qualified North Dakota electors, regardless of party affiliation.[1] The 2020 primary election was held on June 9.
Candidates[]
Nominee[]
- Doug Burgum, incumbent Governor[2]
- Running mate: Brent Sanford, incumbent Lieutenant Governor
Eliminated in primary[]
Declined[]
- Wayne Stenehjem, North Dakota Attorney General[5]
- Drew Wrigley, U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota[5]
Results[]
Results by county:
Burgum—>90%
Burgum—80–90%
Burgum—70–80%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Doug Burgum (incumbent) | 96,119 | 89.51% | |
| Republican | Michael Coachman | 10,904 | 10.15% | |
| Republican | Write-In | 356 | 0.33% | |
| Total votes | 107,379 | 100.0% | ||
Democratic-NPL primary[]
At the Democratic-NPL Party's virtual state convention on March 21, the party endorsed Shelley Lenz for governor and Ben Vig for lieutenant governor.[7] As a result, they were automatically placed on the primary election ballot, where they did not face competition from other candidates. The primary election was held on June 9, entirely by mail and open to all qualified North Dakota electors, regardless of party affiliation.[1]
Candidates[]
Nominee[]
- Shelley Lenz, veterinarian and former Killdeer school board member[8]
- Running mate: Ben Vig, former member of the North Dakota House of Representatives[9]
Declined[]
- Joshua Boschee, minority leader of the North Dakota House of Representatives[5]
- Heidi Heitkamp, former U.S. Senator[10]
- Erin Oban, state senator[5]
- Mac Schneider, former minority leader of the North Dakota Senate[5]
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic-NPL | Shelley Lenz | 34,501 | 99.33% | |
| Democratic-NPL | Write-In | 231 | 0.67% | |
| Total votes | 34,732 | 100.0% | ||
Other candidates[]
Libertarian Party[]
Nominee[]
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libertarian | DuWayne Hendrickson | 705 | 77.64% | |
| Libertarian | Write-In | 203 | 22.36% | |
| Total votes | 908 | 100.0% | ||
General election[]
Predictions[]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[12] | Safe R | October 23, 2020 |
| Inside Elections[13] | Safe R | October 28, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[14] | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| Politico[15] | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| Daily Kos[16] | Safe R | October 28, 2020 |
| RCP[17] | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
| 270towin[18] | Safe R | November 2, 2020 |
Polling[]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Doug Burgum (R) |
Shelley Lenz (D) |
DuWayne Hendrickson (L) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFM Research | September 12–16, 2020 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.5% | 56% | 24% | 6% | 14% |
Hypothetical polling
- with Heidi Heitkamp
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Doug Burgum (R) |
Heidi Heitkamp (D) |
Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892 Polling (R)[A] | July 15–17, 2019 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 62% | 33% | 5% |
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Doug Burgum (incumbent) | 235,479 | 65.84% | -10.68% | |
| Democratic-NPL | Shelley Lenz | 90,789 | 25.38% | +5.99% | |
| Libertarian | DuWayne Hendrickson | 13,853 | 3.87% | -0.03% | |
| Write-in | 17,538 | 4.90% | +4.71% | ||
| Total votes | 357,659 | 100.00% | |||
| Turnout | 364,251 | 62.65% | |||
| Registered electors | 581,379 | ||||
| Republican hold | |||||
Notes[]
- Partisan clients
- ^ Poll sponsored by Doug Burgum
- General notes
References[]
- ^ a b c "North Dakota Election Laws" (PDF). North Dakota Secretary of State. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
- ^ Dura, Jack (October 24, 2019). "Gov. Burgum announces reelection campaign". The Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
- ^ Dura, Jack (September 16, 2019). "Coachman announces 2020 North Dakota gubernatorial campaign". Grand Forks Herald. Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- ^ "Candidate List Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Easter, Sam (June 16, 2019). "Little interest, so far, in ND governor's race". The Jamestown Sun. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Statewide Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
- ^ Dura, Jack (March 22, 2020). "North Dakota Democrats endorse 2020 state, congressional candidates". The Bismarck Tribune. Lee Enterprises. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- ^ "Shelley Lenz launches campaign for ND Governor". KVRR. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ "Dem-NPL Governor Candidate Lenz Announces Running Mate". KVRR Local News. 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ Nicholson, Blake (August 8, 2019). "Burgum campaign measures popularity against that of Heitkamp". The Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
- ^ a b "2020 primary election contest/candidate list".
- ^ "2020 Governor Race Ratings for October 23, 2020". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Gubernatorial Ratings". insideelections.com. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Gubernatorial race ratings". Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 2, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ "We rated every gubernatorial race in 2020. Here's who we think will win". Politico. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ^ "2020 Governor Race Ratings". Daily Kos. June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "2020 Governor Races". RealClearPolitics. June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "2020 Gubernatorial Elections Map". 270towin.
- ^ "Statewide Results". North Dakota Secretary of State. November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
External links[]
- Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "North Dakota", Voting & Elections Toolkits
- "North Dakota: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
- "League of Women Voters of North Dakota". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
- North Dakota at Ballotpedia
- Official campaign websites
- Doug Burgum (R) for Governor
- Shelley Lenz (D) for Governor Archived 2020-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
Categories:
- North Dakota gubernatorial elections
- 2020 North Dakota elections
- 2020 United States gubernatorial elections