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Finding Information on the 2020 General Election and Candidates

Learn how to register to vote, how to vote, and info on candidates.

Candidate Web Pages

Here are the official campaign web sites of Pennsylvania's major candidates.

Campaign web sites are often biased, but will provide a starting point for biographical information and priorities. 

Candidates for U.S. President (in alphabetical order by last name):

Democratic Candidates Republican Candidates Green Party Libertarian Party

Joe Biden (presidential candidate) running with Kamala Harris (candidate for vice-president)

Donald Trump (presidential candidate) running with Mike Pence (candidate for vice-president)

 Howie Hawkins (presidential candidate) running with Angela Nicole Walker (candidate for vice-president) Jo Jorgensen (presidential candidate) running with Spike Cohen (candidate for vice-president)

 

Candidates for U.S. Representatives:

Voting for U.S. Representatives are by district. You can learn what district you live in by visiting House.gov. To see who is running for U.S. Representative in your district, check Ballotpedia. 

 

Candidates for Pennsylvania State Senator: find on Ballotpedia.

 

Candidates for Pennsylvania State Representative: find on Ballotpedia.

 

Candidates for Pennsylvania Auditor General (by party):

  • Democratic Party: Nina Ahmad
  • Green Party: Olivia Faison
  • Libertarian Party: Jennifer Moore
  • Republican Party: Timothy DeFoor

 

Candidates for Attorney General of Pennsylvania (by party):

 

Candidates for Pennsylvania Treasurer (by party): 

 

To find campaign web sites of other candidates, Google their names, places, and the offices they are running for.

Note: Candidates who already hold an office might have more than one web site -- one for their current work and constituents (note .gov in the URL), and one for their 2020 campaign (note .com in the URL). 

Presidential Debates

Presidential Debates are a chance for the top nominees to speak with each other about which issues are important to them in an attempt to persuade the American public to vote for them. Political journalists and experts will often provide commentary and analysis about the debate after the debate has ended.

2020 debates:

  • First presidential debate: September 29, 9:00PM - 10:30PM Eastern Watch recording on C-SPAN's YouTube channel.
    • Moderator: Chris Wallace, Fox News
    • Topics: their records, the U.S. Supreme Court, COVID-19, the economy, race and violence, integrity of the election
  • Vice-presidential debate: October 7, 9:00PM - 10:30PM Eastern Watch recording on C-SPAN's YouTube channel.
    • Moderator: Susan Page, USA Today
    • Topics: COVID-19, jobs and the economy, healthcare, climate change and the environment, policing in America, voting.
  • Second presidential debate: CANCELLED. Was originally scheduled to be held October 15, 9:00PM - 10:30PM Eastern. Instead, each candidate hosted a town hall event (see next point).
  • Town halls (in lieu of second presidential debate): October 15, 8:00PM - 9:30PM Eastern
  • Third presidential debate: October 22, 9:00PM - 10:30PM Eastern (ABC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC; watch recording on C-SPAN's YouTube channel)
    • Moderator: Kristen Welker, NBC News
    • Topics: fighting COVID-19, American families, race in America, climate change, national security, leadership.

Non-Partisan Candidate Information

Here are several sources of non-partisan biographical information:

Note: To find non-partisan information about candidates in other states, try to find a "League of Women Voters" in your jurisdiction and look for a 2018 general election guide. 

Newspaper Databases

Penn State University Libraries offers two news databases which cover current news in Pennsylvania and throughout the U.S.:​

Note: These databases contain millions of articles. Consider limiting your results to a specific state and date, or include additional keywords in your search. 

Also note: In addition to factual news, these databases contain "editorials," which are opinions written by news reporters or the general public. Editorials can be very biased. 

Newspaper Election Guides

Some newspapers and television stations offer "election guides" which publish interviews or other information about candidates. Other newspapers gather political stories on a single site so that they are easier to find.

Here are some for Central Pennsylvania:

Here are some for major cities in Pennsylvania:

To find election guides for other areas, Google the place, "newspaper," and "election." 

Finding Endorsed Candidates

"Endorsed" candidates are officially supported by a national, state, county, or other political party.

This information can be helpful in cases where multiple candidates from the same party are running for office -- such as primary elections, or council elections. It is also helpful in elections for judges and other offices where candidates often declare themselves members of all parties.

Here are Pennsylvania candidates who have been endorsed by their parties:

To find endorsed candidates in other states and in smaller jurisdictions, Google the state or county, the party, and "candidates." For example, "Dauphin County Democratic Party candidates" or "Libertarian Party Maryland candidates." 

Note: These lists may not contain every candidate at the national, state, county, and local levels. You may need to do more digging!

Other Endorsements and Report Cards

Various issue-oriented organizations endorse candidates or produce "report cards" on candidates' voting records.

These are biased, but can be helpful if a certain political issue is very important to you. 

Below is a list of *some* organizations pertaining to Pennsylvania's 2020 elections.

Note: These are only a few of the organizations that endorse candidates or get involved with electing certain types of candidates. For more help, ask a librarian.