As a result, the Democrats obtained a government trifecta, the first time since the elections in 2008 that the party gained unified control of Congress and the presidency.

In the congressional elections, Democrats lost seats in the House of Representatives but retained their majority in the chamber by a narrow margin.

Contests for the six non-voting congressional delegates from the District of Columbia and the permanently inhabited U.S. territories were also held during the 2020 elections.

Significant issues for voters included the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as health care, the economy, racial unrest and climate change.

[7] These attempts to overturn the election resulted in a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, which led to Trump being impeached for the second time and deplatformed across several major social media platforms.

[26][27] While Democrats in many races were moderate, Republicans depicted them as extremists or secret "socialists" who held radical views on criminal justice or climate legislation.

[26] The rhetoric of incumbent president Donald Trump and his allies during the election campaign was marked by frequent use of falsehoods and promotion of unfounded conspiracy theories.

[42][43] The Republican Party also re-nominated Vice President Mike Pence as Trump's running mate for the 2020 election.

[44] Along with Biden and Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Tulsi Gabbard all won at least one delegate in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.

Only one state governorship changed parties, as Republican Greg Gianforte won the 2020 Montana gubernatorial election, succeeding outgoing Democratic governor Steve Bullock.

Eight state treasurers ran for re-election and five won, while Republican Kelly Schmidt of North Dakota chose to retire.

In the 2020 elections, voters considered a number of referendums, initiatives, ballot measures, and state constitutional amendments on a variety of topics, ranging from Medicaid expansion to marijuana legalization to voting rights.

[89] Since the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests, there were at least 20 police-related ballot measures across the country, including in California, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

[90] Several proposed referendums failed to secure the necessary number of signatures to appear on ballots due to disruptions and social distancing measures undertaken after the COVID-19 pandemic.

[135][136] In the 2020 elections, the Republican Party won several legislative chambers and gubernatorial positions that had been selected by Democrats as key redistricting targets.

Additionally, the passage of a referendum in Virginia removed control of redistricting from the Democratic-controlled legislature to an independent commission.

Since the beginning of 2020, various major cities have seen incumbent mayors re-elected, including Bakersfield (Karen Goh),[138] Fremont (Lily Mei),[139] and Sacramento, California (Darrell Steinberg);[140] Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Sharon Weston Broome);[141] Chesapeake (David West),[142] Fairfax City (David Meyer),[142] Fredericksburg (Mary Katherine Greenlaw),[142] Hampton (Donnie Tuck),[142] Richmond (Levar Stoney),[143] and Virginia Beach, Virginia (Bobby Dyer);[144] Glendale (Jerry Weiers),[145] Mesa (John Giles),[146] and Phoenix, Arizona (Kate Gallego);[147] Irving (Rick Stopfer)[148] and Lubbock, Texas (Dan Pope);[149] Milwaukee (Tom Barrett),[150] and Kenosha, Wisconsin (John Antaramian); [151] Portland, Oregon (Ted Wheeler);[152] Salt Lake County, Utah (Jenny Wilson);[153] Wilmington, Delaware (Mike Purzycki);[154] Winston-Salem, North Carolina (Allen Joines);[155] and Bayamón, Puerto Rico (Ramón Luis Rivera Jr.).

[157] In Tulsa, Oklahoma, incumbent mayor G. T. Bynum earned reelection by winning an outright majority in the August primary.

[158] Open mayoral seats were won in Clearwater (Frank Hibbard)[159] and Miami-Dade County, Florida (Daniella Levine Cava);[160] Fresno (Jerry Dyer),[161] Riverside (Patricia Lock Dawson),[162] San Diego (Todd Gloria),[163] and Santa Ana, California (Vicente Sarmiento);[164] Gilbert (Brigette Peterson)[147] and Scottsdale, Arizona (David Ortega);[147] Honolulu, Hawaiʻi (Rick Blangiardi);[165] and San Juan, Puerto Rico (Miguel Romero).

[172] In Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, incumbent Brynneth Pawltro was ousted by Wilbur Beast, a 6-month-old French bulldog.

Mayors in Elizabeth and Idaho Springs, Colorado; Humboldt, Nebraska; Powers, Oregon; Stevensville, Montana; and Westminster, California were retained in office.

[186] Stephanie Bryan, the first woman to serve as chair of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, also won reelection.

[187] United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians incumbent Tribal Chief Joe Bunch, who was impeached but not removed from office in January 2020,[188] was re-elected.

Not Afraid Jr.[192] Kristopher Peters was elected Squaxin Island Tribe tribal council chairman, defeating incumbent Arnold Cooper,[193] and Joseph Tali Byrd defeated long-time Quapaw Nation Business Committee Chairman John Berrey.

[194] Durell Cooper defeated incumbent Apache Tribe of Oklahoma Tribal Chairman Bobby Komardley.

[197] The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community elected Keith Anderson tribal chairman, replacing the retiring Charlie Vig.

[198] Three Minnesota Chippewa Tribe bands had candidates win more than 50% of the votes in June primaries, eliminating the need for a general election: Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe incumbent tribal chair Faron Jackson Sr.,[199] White Earth Nation incumbent chief executive Michael Fairbanks,[200] and, on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, challenger Bobby Deschampe, who defeated incumbent tribal chair Beth Drost.

The Trump Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue was initially chosen as the venue, but this was later changed due to the coronavirus restrictions that limited such gatherings to 50 people.

[218] In an August 2020 survey, 49% of respondents said that they expect voting to be "difficult", up from 15% in 2018; 75% of Republicans, but less than half of Democrats were confident that the elections "will be conducted fairly and accurately".

The election set new records for electoral continuity, party loyalty, nationalization, polarization, and presidential influence on the down-ballot vote choices, to the point where local factors such as incumbency, candidate quality, and campaign spending barely registered in the congressional election results.