Here’s how California will award its delegates in the 2020 primary election

Californians who completed their ballots for the Democratic presidential primary election on March 3 may be surprised to find their candidate of choice gains few delegates, if any.

That’s because rules set by the state and national party mean a small number of candidates will share the spoils.

While the process is complex, and will take days or weeks to complete, the important thing to know is that a candidate needs 15 percent of the vote statewide or in any one of the state’s 53 congressional districts to come away from California with pledged delegates.

California is a key battleground for the 2020 Democrats, given it is the most delegate-rich state in the nation and accounts for more than one-tenth of the country’s total.

Here’s how the state will award its 494 delegates:

Pledged Delegates

Of the 415 pledged delegates, nearly two-thirds – 271 – are chosen at the congressional district level. A candidate can capture anywhere from four to seven delegates depending on the size of a congressional district.

The remaining 144 pledged delegates are distributed based on a candidate’s performance across the entire state. Among these 144 delegates are 90 at-large delegates and 54 pledged leaders and elected officials (PLEOs).

The at-large delegates are everyday voters committed to a particular candidate, while the PLEOs consist of big-city mayors, statewide elected officials, state legislative leaders, state legislators, other state, county and local elected officials and leaders within the California Democratic Party who have committed to a candidate.

To be eligible for a pledged delegate, a Democratic candidate must get at least 15 percent support statewide or in a given congressional district.

Unpledged Delegates

Another 79 delegates are unpledged. The 79 so-called superdelegates are party leaders who can back any candidate they choose. They include Gov. Gavin Newsom, California congressional members, state party leaders and DNC members.

Even before election day, some candidates secured support from superdelegates, including Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and John Delaney.

Biden nabbed the support of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, five U.S. House representatives and two DNC members, while Bloomberg won endorsements from two House members and one DNC member. Sanders earned the backing of one DNC member and one House member. Delaney, who has suspended his campaign, and Warren have each received endorsements from one House member.

To win the nomination outright at the Democratic National Committee’s summer convention, candidates need a majority plus one of the 3,979 pledged delegates, which amounts to 1,991 people.

In the possible but unlikely case no Democrat crosses that threshold, the convention becomes contested, allowing unpledged party leaders to vote on the second ballot and any subsequent ballot until a candidate captures the majority of the 4,750 overall delegates, or 2,376 votes.

This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Here’s how California will award its delegates in the 2020 primary election."