Third-party and independent candidates for the 2020 United States presidential election


This article lists third-party and independent candidates, also jointly known as minor candidates, associated with the 2020 [United States presidential election].
"Third party" is a term commonly used in the United States in reference to political parties other than the Democratic and Republican parties. An independent candidate is one not affiliated with any political party.
The list of candidates whose names were printed on the ballot or who were accepted as write-in candidates varied by state. More than a hundred candidates were on the ballot or formally registered as write-in candidates in at least one state.
All minor candidates combined received less than 2% of the national votes.

Summary

Appearing on every ballot, Libertarian Party nominee Jo Jorgensen performed the best of any third-party candidate, receiving 1,865,535 votes. Jorgensen received 187,910 votes in California, her best state vote total. She received 2.63% of the vote in South Dakota, her best state by percentage. Jorgensen was the only candidate to receive more than 2% of the vote in any one state.
Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins was the only other third-party candidate to receive more than 1% of the vote in any state, which he did in Maine. Hawkins also received his highest vote total in California, with 81,032 votes.
In Nevada, None of These Candidates received 1% of the vote.
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Candidates who received more than 2,000 votes

The candidates below are listed in order of national vote totals.

Jo Jorgensen, Libertarian Party

Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen was the only minor candidate to breach a million votes nationwide, getting more than 1% of the national votes and more than the margin between the two major candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, in several battleground states. She was also the only minor party candidate who was on the ballot in every state, plus Washington D.C.

Jade Simmons, independent

Registered write-in
''Unregistered write-in''

Alyson Kennedy, Socialist Workers Party

''Unregistered write-in''

Bill Hammons, Unity Party

''Unregistered write-in''

Jerome Segal, Bread and Roses

''Unregistered write-in''

Dario Hunter, Progressive Party

Registered write-in
''Unregistered write-in''

Phil Collins, Prohibition Party

Registered write-in
''Unregistered write-in''

Jesse Ventura, Green Party of Alaska

Registered write-in
''Unregistered write-in''

Mark Charles, independent

Registered write-in
''Unregistered write-in''

Joe McHugh, independent

Registered write-in
''Unregistered write-in''

Other votes

A few states counted write-in votes for anyone, including people who did not declare themselves candidates and even non-human entities. In Vermont, write-in preferences included well-regarded politicians, celebrities, fictional characters, and deities.
In Nevada, the ballots included the option "None of These Candidates", which received 14,079 votes.

Withdrawn candidates

Declined

Individuals in this section were the subject of speculation that they might run for president as an independent or minor party candidate for the 2020 election but later said that they would not.