Biden announcedhis candidacy for the2020 Democratic presidential nomination on April 25, 2019. A total of 29 major candidates declared their candidacies for the primaries, but over time, the field narrowed down to Biden andVermont SenatorBernie Sanders. Following Sanders withdrawing from the race, Biden became the presumptive nominee. He defeated incumbent presidentDonald Trump in the general election, with 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232. Biden was the first Democrat to win the states ofArizona andGeorgia since the 1990s, and broke the record for votes cast for a presidential candidate. While he intended to run for re-election in 2024, following calls from various prominent Democrats, he withdrew from the race.
Biden has never lost a general election, though he failed to win the Democratic nomination for president in1988 and2008. All three of the winning Democratic presidential tickets of the 21st century had Biden on the ticket, either as president or vice president.[5]
Biden's first election was inNew Castle County, Delaware, for the fourth district of the New CastleCounty Council. He unseated Republican incumbent Lawrence T. Messick. At the time of Biden's election, the state's politics were dominated byRepublicans. Biden's campaign was managed by his sister,Valerie Biden Owens.[2]
Biden was elected to theUnited States Senate seven times between 1972 and 2008. Shortly after beginning his seventh term he resigned due to being elected Vice President.[7] As of January 22, 2025, Biden is the nineteenth longest serving Senator of all time, serving slightly over thirty-six years. Additionally he is the longest servingSenator from Delaware.[8] His sister Valerie served as campaign manager on all seven of his campaigns.[4]
1972 U.S. Senate map[9] Biden: 50–60% Boggs: 40–50%
After two years on the New Castle County Council,[10] Biden decided to challenge incumbent Republican SenatorJ. Caleb Boggs.Ted Kaufman, who worked on the campaign, recalled that he told Biden, "Joe, I've got to be honest with you; I really don't think you have much of a chance to win this race." The campaign had very little funding, and mostly relied onword-of-mouth marketing. On November 7, 1972, Biden upset Boggs by a margin of 3,162 votes.[11][12]
Shortly after the election, Biden's wife and children were in a car crash. His wife,Neilia, and daughter, Naomi, died, while his sons,Beau andHunter, were hospitalized. Following the crash, Biden contemplated suicide and considered not taking his Senate seat.[13] He decided to take the seat after being convinced by Senate Majority LeaderMike Mansfield.[14]
On November 7, 1978, Biden was re-elected, defeating Republican challengerJames H. Baxter, Jr. Biden greatly improved on his 1972 margin, and won all three counties, flippingSussex County away from the Republican Party.[15]
In 1990, Biden, like most incumbents in the1990 United States Senate elections, was re-elected,[21] defeatingM. Jane Brady, deputyAttorney General of Delaware. Brady decided to run because she felt that Biden's liberal voting record did not reflect the political positions of Delawareans.[22] Brady's campaign raised around $245,000; she was heavily outspent by Biden, who raised around $2,800,000.[23]
In 1996, Biden was re-elected to a fifth term, against Republican Ray Clatworthy. For the first time in his senatorial career, Biden's margin of victory decreased.[20][26] Despite this, Biden still greatly outperformed Democratic PresidentBill Clinton in theconcurrent presidential election. Clinton received 51 percent of the vote, to Republican SenatorBob Dole's 36.5 percent andReform candidateRoss Perot's 10.6 percent.[26]
2002 U.S. Senate map[27] Biden: 50–60% 60–70% Clatworthy: 50–60%
In 2002, Biden won re-election to another term, again defeating Republican challenger Ray Clatworthy. For the second election in a row,[25][27] Biden's margin of victory decreased as Clatworthy managed to flipKent County away from the Democrats.[20][27] Biden's victory made him the first Senator from Delaware to serve six terms in the Senate.[28]
After ending hispresidential bid in January 2008, Biden focused instead on running for a seventh Senate term.[31] On August 23, 2008, Democratic Party presidential nomineeBarack Obama announced that he had selected Biden to serve as his vice presidential running mate.[32] Under Delaware law, Biden could run simultaneously for both his Senate seat and for vice president, which he decided to do.[33] Within minutes of the polls closing, the election was called for Biden.[34] He was re-elected in a landslide victory against Republican challengerChristine O'Donnell.[35][36] He again won all three counties, flipping Kent County back to the Democratic party.[27][30] He slightly outperformed Obama'svictory in the state.[35]
Due to his and Obama's victory in the concurrent presidential election, Biden resigned from the Senate a few weeks after being sworn in.[7] Long-time Biden advisorTed Kaufman was appointed to fill the vacancy. Kaufman decided not to run in the2010 special election.[37] The election was won by DemocratChris Coons, who served the remainder of Biden's term.[38]
Despite not running, Biden received one vote at the1984 Democratic National Convention. Unpledged delegate Keron Kerr cast her vote for Biden because she enjoyed a speech he had given inMaine, her home state, the previous year.[40] The nomination was won by former Vice PresidentWalter Mondale,[41] who lost to Republican incumbentRonald Reagan.[42]
On January 31, 2007, Biden again announced his candidacy.[48] However, on January 3, 2008, after finishing in fifth place in theIowa caucus receiving around one percent of the vote, Biden ended his presidential bid. He declined to make an endorsement and stated he was not interested in the Vice Presidency or a cabinet position.[49]
In 2015, the final year of his Vice Presidency, following media speculation that he would seek the presidency in the2016 United States presidential election. Biden denied the rumors, stating that his "window for a successful campaign has closed".[63]
First-instance vote by state and territory[64][65]
Joe Biden
Bernie Sanders
Michael Bloomberg
Biden announcedhis candidacy in the 2020 presidential election on April 25, 2019.[66] A total of 29 major candidates declared their candidacies for the primaries, the largest field of presidential candidates for any American political party since 1972.[67] He was initially considered to be among the strongest candidates,[68][69] though his chances diminished after poor performances in the Iowa caucus andNew Hampshire primary.[70][69] However, he was considered the frontrunner after his wins in theSouth Carolina primary and onSuper Tuesday.[71][68]
Eventually, the field narrowed down to Biden andVermont SenatorBernie Sanders.[72] Eventually, Sanders withdrew from the race, and Biden became thepresumptive Democratic nominee in April 2020,[73] reaching the delegate threshold needed to secure the nomination in June 2020.[74] During the campaign, Biden pledged to select a woman to be his running mate.[75] After his victory SenatorsKamala Harris ofCalifornia andElizabeth Warren ofMassachusetts were seen as the most likely candidates.[76][77] Biden eventually selected Harris.[78]
First-instance vote by state and territory[88][89]
Joe Biden
Jason Palmer
Primary cancelled
In April 2023, Biden launched a bid for re-election to the presidency.[90][91] U.S. RepresentativeDean Phillips unsuccessfully challenged Biden in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[92] Biden easily became the"presumptive nominee" of the Democratic Party on March 12, 2024.[93] Biden's only primary contest loss was in the U.S. overseas territoryAmerican Samoa against businessmanJason Palmer.[94]
The Florida primary was canceled after theFlorida Democratic Party only submitted Biden's name to appear on the ballot.[95] The Delaware primary was canceled for the same reason.[96] Biden was awarded the delegates from both states.[88]
^abThe Democratic parties ofFlorida andMichigan violatedDemocratic National Committee rules by moving their primaries before February 5, 2008, resulting in a nullification of their primaries, until the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee voted to restore half their delegates.[50]
^abWrightson, Lewis C. (December 20, 1978)."Official Results of General Election"(PDF).Delaware Board of Elections. p. 2.Archived(PDF) from the original on March 6, 2025. RetrievedMarch 14, 2025.
^ab"Federal Elections 2012"(PDF).Federal Election Commission. Washington, D.C. 2013.Archived(PDF) from the original on December 2, 2019. RetrievedJanuary 20, 2021.
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