Biden announced his candidacy for the 2020 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 and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Following Sanders withdrawing from the race, Biden became the presumptive nominee. He defeated incumbent president Donald Trump in the general election, with 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232. Biden was the first Democrat to win the states of Arizona and Georgia 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 in 1988 and 2008. 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 in New Castle County, Delaware, for the fourth district of the New Castle County Council. He unseated Republican incumbent Lawrence T. Messick. At the time of Biden's election, the state's politics were dominated by Republicans. Biden's campaign was managed by his sister, Valerie Biden Owens.[2]
Biden was elected to the United 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 serving Senator 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 Senator J. 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 on word-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 and Hunter, 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 Leader Mike Mansfield.[14]
On November 7, 1978, Biden was re-elected, defeating Republican challenger James H. Baxter, Jr. Biden greatly improved on his 1972 margin, and won all three counties, flipping Sussex County away from the Republican Party.[15]
In 1984, Biden won re-election to a third term, defeating Republican challenger Delaware state house representative John M. Burris. Biden outperformed Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale's performance in the concurrent presidential election. Mondale lost the state to Republican President Ronald Reagan by over 50 thousand votes and twenty percent of the vote.[18] Biden later stated that he came very close to deciding not to run.[19]
In 1990, Biden, like most incumbents in the 1990 United States Senate elections, was re-elected,[21] defeating M. Jane Brady, deputy Attorney 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 President Bill Clinton in the concurrent presidential election. Clinton received 51 percent of the vote, to Republican Senator Bob Dole's 36.5 percent and Reform candidate Ross Perot's 10.6 percent.[26]
2002 U.S. Senate map[27] Biden: 50–60% 60–70% Clatworthy: 50–60%
Biden won re-election to another term, defeating Republican challenger Ray Clatworthy. For the second election in a row,[25][27] Biden's margin of victory decreased. Clatworthy managed to flip Kent 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 his presidential bid in January 2008, Biden focused instead on running for a seventh Senate term.[31] On August 23, 2008, Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack 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 challenger Christine O'Donnell.[35][36] He again won all three counties, flipping Kent County back to the Democratic party.[27][30] He slightly outperformed Obama's victory 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 advisor Ted Kaufman was appointed to fill the vacancy. Kaufman decided not to run in the 2010 special election.[37] The election was won by Democrat Chris Coons, who served the remainder of Biden's term.[38]
Despite not running, Biden received one vote at the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Unpledged delegate Keron Kerr cast her vote for Biden because she enjoyed a speech he had performed in her home state, Maine, the previous year.[40]
In June 1988, Biden, then in his third Senate term, declared his intentions to run for president.[43] Originally, Biden was regarded as potentially one of the strongest candidates in the field.[44] However, following reports that he had plagiarized a speech by Neil Kinnock, the leader of the British Labour Party, he withdrew before the presidential primaries.[45]
On January 31, 2007, Biden announced his candidacy.[48] After finishing in fifth place in the Iowa caucus on January 3, 2008, garnering only one percent of the total vote, Biden ended his presidential bid.[49]
The Democratic parties of Florida and Michigan violated Democratic 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]
In 2015, the final year of his Vice Presidency, following media speculation that he would seek the presidency in the 2016 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 announced his 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 and New Hampshire primary.[70][69] However, he was considered the frontrunner after his wins in the South Carolina primary and on Super Tuesday.[71][68]
Eventually, the field narrowed down to Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.[72] Eventually, Sanders withdrew from the race, and Biden became the presumptive 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 Senators Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts 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. Representative Dean 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 territory American Samoa against businessman Jason Palmer.[94]
The Florida primary was canceled after the Florida 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]
^ 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. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
^ ab"Federal Elections 2012"(PDF). Federal Election Commission. Washington, D.C. 2013. Archived(PDF) from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2021.