The Pennsylvania Attorney General election of 2020 was held on November 3, 2020. Primary elections were originally due to take place on April 28, 2020. However, following concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States including Pennsylvania, the primaries were delayed until June 2, 2020.[1] Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro defeated Republican Heather Heidelbaugh to win a second term. With this victory, earning 3,461,472 votes and outperforming Joe Biden in the concurrent presidential election, Shapiro became the highest votegetter in Pennsylvania history.
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    Shapiro: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Heidelbaugh: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
editCandidates
editDeclared
edit- Josh Shapiro, incumbent Pennsylvania Attorney General[2]
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro (incumbent) | Unopposed | |||
| Total votes | 1,429,414 | 100.0% | |||
Republican primary
editCandidates
editDeclared
edit- Heather Heidelbaugh, partner, Leech Tishman; former Allegheny County councilwoman (2012–2016)[4]
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Heather Heidelbaugh | Unopposed | |||
| Total votes | 1,055,168 | 100.0% | |||
General election
editPredictions
edit| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[5] | Likely D | July 17, 2020 |
Polling
edit| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Josh Shapiro (D) |
Heather Heidelbaugh (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civiqs/Daily Kos | October 23–26, 2020 | 1,145 (LV) | ± % | 52% | 41% | 5%[b] | 3% |
| Monmouth University | September 28 – October 4, 2020 | 500 (RV) | ± 4.4% | 53% | 38% | 1%[c] | 7% |
| 500 (LV) | 54%[d] | 39% | – | – | |||
| 53%[e] | 40% | – | – | ||||
| Trafalgar Group (R)[A] | September 23, 2020 | 1,023 (LV) | ± 2.98% | 47% | 43% | 5%[f] | 5% |
| CPEC | September 15–17, 2020 | 830 (LV) | ± 2.3% | 41% | 21% | 1% | 37% |
| Monmouth University | August 28–31, 2020 | 400 (RV) | ± 4.9% | 51% | 41% | 2%[g] | 7% |
| 400 (LV) | 52%[h] | 41% | 1% | 6% | |||
| 51%[i] | 42% | 1% | 6% |
Endorsements
editJosh Shapiro
- U.S. Presidents
- U.S. Senators
- Bob Casey Jr., U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (2007–present), Treasurer of Pennsylvania (2005-2007), Auditor General of Pennsylvania (1997-2005)[7]
- Local Officials
- Pete Buttigieg, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate[8]
- Unions
- Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council[9]
- Organizations
- Brady Campaign[10]
- Human Rights Campaign[11]
- Mom's Demand Action[12]
- NARAL[13]
- Pennsylvania Democratic Party[14]
- Individuals
- Fred Guttenberg, activist[15]
- Newspapers and other media
Results
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro (incumbent) | 3,461,472 | 50.85% | −0.56% | |
| Republican | Heather Heidelbaugh | 3,153,831 | 46.33% | −2.28% | |
| Libertarian | Daniel Wassmer | 120,489 | 1.77% | N/A | |
| Green | Richard L. Weiss | 70,804 | 1.04% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 6,806,596 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
By congressional district
editShapiro won 10 of 18 congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican.[19]
| District | Shapiro | Heidelbaugh | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 52% | 46% | Brian Fitzpatrick |
| 2nd | 71% | 26% | Brendan Boyle |
| 3rd | 89% | 8% | Dwight Evans |
| 4th | 61% | 36% | Madeleine Dean |
| 5th | 63% | 35% | Mary Gay Scanlon |
| 6th | 54% | 43% | Chrissy Houlahan |
| 7th | 52% | 45% | Susan Wild |
| 8th | 52% | 46% | Matt Cartwright |
| 9th | 37% | 60% | Dan Meuser |
| 10th | 47% | 50% | Scott Perry |
| 11th | 37% | 60% | Lloyd Smucker |
| 12th | 32% | 65% | Fred Keller |
| 13th | 28% | 69% | John Joyce |
| 14th | 42% | 56% | Guy Reschenthaler |
| 15th | 31% | 66% | Glenn Thompson |
| 16th | 43% | 54% | Mike Kelly |
| 17th | 54% | 43% | Conor Lamb |
| 18th | 67% | 30% | Mike Doyle |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear - ^ Wessmer (L) with 3%; Weiss (G) with 2%
- ^ "No one" with 1%; Wassmer (L) and Weiss (G) with 0%
- ^ With a likely voter turnout model featuring high turnout
- ^ With a likely voter turnout model featuring low turnout
- ^ Wassmer (L) and Weiss (G) with 2%; "Someone else" with 1%
- ^ "No one" and Wassmer (L) with 1%; Weiss (G) with 0%
- ^ With a likely voter turnout model featuring higher turnout than in the 2016 presidential election
- ^ With a likely voter turnout model featuring lower turnout than in the 2016 presidential election
Partisan clients
edit- ^ The American Industry Project has exclusively supported Republican candidates
References
edit- ^ Levy, Marc; Scolforo, Mark (March 25, 2020). "Pennsylvania lawmakers vote to delay primary election". AP NEWS. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- ^ Southwick, Ron. "Josh Shapiro running for re-election as Pa. Attorney General". PennLive. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
- ^ a b Boockvar, Kathy. "Pennsylvania Elections - Office Results | Attorney General". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ Gerow, Charlie (May 24, 2020). "An introduction to the GOP candidates for statewide offices as primary day approaches | Charlie Gerow". Penn Live.
- ^ "An Updated Look at Handicapping the 2020 Attorney General Elections". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ Obama, Barack (August 3, 2020). "First Wave of 2020 Endorsements". Medium.
- ^ "PA-AG: Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. (D) Endorses Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) For Re-Election". Daily Kos.
- ^ "Pete Buttigieg endorses 54 Democrats seeking office this November". September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Tweet". twitter.com. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ "Tweet". twitter.com. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ "Human Rights Campaign Endorses Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro for Re-Election". HRC. October 5, 2020.
- ^ "Gun Sense Voter". Gun Sense Voter.
- ^ "Tweet". twitter.com. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ "Tweet". twitter.com. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ "Tweet". twitter.com. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ "Tribune endorsements for statewide offices". The Philadelphia Tribune. October 27, 2020.
- ^ "Josh Shapiro would continue a track record of integrity as attorney general | Inquirer Endorsement". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 12, 2020. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Presidential Election - Statewide". Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ "DRA 2020". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
External links
edit- Official campaign websites