2020 Republican Party premiership primaries

From March 8 to June 7, 2020, voters of the Republican Party elected some of the delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The premiership primaries were inconclusive, as several of the leading contenders did not enter them, but South African Senator Ian Smith emerged as the strongest candidate and secured the nomination at the Convention, held from July 11 to 15 in Durban .

Primary race

Recalling the experience of the 1984 Rhodesian Republican premiership nominee Joshua Nkomo , many wondered if anti-Rhodesian prejudice would affect Smith's chances of winning the nomination and the election in November.[1] To prove his vote-getting ability, Smith challenged Orange Free State Senator Ross Perot , a liberal Republican who immigrated from The Jamesian Republic , in the Cape primary. Although Smith defeated Perot in the Ryukus , the fact that his margin of victory came mostly from heavily Rhodesian and Oakesian areas left many party bosses unconvinced of Smith's appeal to non- Rhodesian voters. Smith next faced Perot in the heavily Ethnic Filipino city of Utrecht , where anti-Rhodesian bigotry was said to be widespread

Candidates

The following political leaders were candidates for the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination:

Major candidates

These candidates participated in multiple state primaries or were included in multiple major national polls.

Competing in primaries

Candidate	Most recent position	Home state	Campaign
Ian Smith	South African Senator from Natal (2013–20)	Natal	(Campaign)
Ross Perot	South African Senator from Orange Free State (2009–34)	Orange Free State	(Campaign)
Fran Jacobs	South African Senator from South West Africa (2005–39)	South West Africa	(Campaign)

Bypassing primaries

The following candidates did not place their name directly on the ballot for any state's presidential primary, but may have sought to influence to selection of un-elected delegates or sought the support of uncommitted delegates.

Candidate	Most recent position	Home state	Campaign
Dick Cheney	South African Senator from Transvaal (2009–21)	Transvaal	(Campaign)
John Steenhusien	Former Premier of Cape Province (2009–13)	Cape Province	(Campaign)
Jan Suzuki	South African Senator from Ryukus (2013–56)	Ryukus	(Campaign)
Danding Cojuangco^[1]	Premier of Cape Province (2014–32)	Cape Province	(Campaign)