Prior to the election, all 14 news organizations making predictions considered this a state Trump would win, or otherwise a safe red state. Trump won the state with 62.03% of the vote to Biden's 36.57%.
Primary elections
The primary elections were held on Super Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld challenged incumbent president Donald Trump in the Republican primary in Alabama.[5] Trump received 96.22% of the vote[6] and all 50 delegates,[7] while Weld received only 1.52% of the vote. Uncommitted votes made up the other 2.27%.
Democratic primary
Biden won the Alabama primary with 63.28% of the vote, winning 44 delegates. Bernie Sanders came in second place with 16.54% of the vote, getting 8 delegates. No other candidates won any delegates from Alabama.
In addition, write-in candidates were allowed without registration, and their votes were not counted individually.[3][4]
Electoral slates
The voters of Alabama cast their ballots for electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, rather than directly for the President and Vice President. Alabama is allocated 9 electors because it has 7 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 9 electors who pledge to vote for their candidate and their running mate. Whoever wins the most votes in the state is awarded all 9 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them. An elector who votes for someone other than their candidate is known as a faithless elector. In the state of Alabama, a faithless elector's vote is counted and not penalized.[44][45]
These electors were nominated by each party in order to vote in the Electoral College should their candidate win the state:[46][47][48]
Results
By county
Swing by county
Legend
Democratic — +7.5–10%
Democratic — +5–7.5%
Democratic — +2.5–5%
Democratic — +0–2.5%
Republican — +0–2.5%
Republican — +2.5–5%
Republican — +5–7.5%
Republican — +7.5–10%
Trend relative to the state by county
Legend
Democratic — +7.5–10%
Democratic — +5–7.5%
Democratic — +2.5–5%
Democratic — +0–2.5%
Republican — +0–2.5%
Republican — +2.5–5%
Republican — +5–7.5%
Republican — +7.5–10%
By congressional district
Trump won 6 of 7 congressional districts.[50] Trump's 81.2% in Alabama's 4th district was his best showing of any congressional district in the nation.
Analysis
A socially conservativeBible Belt state, Alabama has voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election starting in 1980, and has done so by double-digit margins in all of them except 1980, 1992, and 1996. Most analysts expected the state to be uncompetitive.
The following are estimates from exit polls conducted by the University of Chicago for the Associated Press interviewing 1,905 likely voters in Alabama, adjusted to match the actual vote count.[53]
^Kelly, Ben (August 13, 2018). "US elections key dates: When are the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential campaign?". The Independent. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
^ a b"2020 November General Election Sample Ballot". Alabama Secretary of State. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
^ a b"Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Alabama". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
^Sean Ross (January 17, 2020). "View your county's sample ballot for Alabama's March 3 primary election". Yellowhammer News. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
^ a b"Republican Party – Official 2020 Primary Election Results". Alabama.gov. Alabama Secretary of State. March 11, 2020. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
^ a b"Alabama Election Results 2020". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
^"Democratic Party – Official 2020 Primary Election Results". Alabama.gov. Alabama Secretary of State. March 11, 2020. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
^"Delegate Tracker". interactives.ap.org. Associated Press. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
^"2020 POTUS Race ratings" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
^"POTUS Ratings | Inside Elections". insideelections.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
^"Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2020 President". crystalball.centerforpolitics.org. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
^"2020 Election Forecast". Politico. November 19, 2019.
^"Battle for White House". RCP. April 19, 2019.
^2020 Bitecofer Model Electoral College Predictions Archived April 23, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Niskanen Center, March 24, 2020, retrieved: April 19, 2020.
^"Niskanen Center electoral college map". 270toWin. September 15, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
^David Chalian; Terence Burlij (June 11, 2020). "Road to 270: CNN's debut Electoral College map for 2020". CNN. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
^"Forecasting the US elections". The Economist. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
^"2020 Election Battleground Tracker". CBS News. July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
^"2020 Presidential Election Interactive Map". 270 to Win.
^"ABC News Race Ratings". CBS News. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
^"AUM Poll: Tommy Tuberville leads Doug Jones by 12 points in closing weeks of Alabama Senate race - AUM". Archived from the original on November 9, 2020.
^"Tyson Group/Consumer Energy Alliance" (PDF).
^"Republicans Lead Senate Races in Alabama, Kentucky and Texas, With South Carolina Tied". Morning Consult Pro.
^"Auburn University at Montgomery" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2020.
^"x.com".
^ a b c d eStacy, Todd (February 11, 2020). "Trump leads Democratic contenders in Alabama poll". Alabama Daily News.
^ a bPoor, Jeff (January 28, 2020). "Poll: Doug Jones reelection chances take hit if he votes to remove Trump".