When the dust finally settled on the Cambria County 2020 election results, it wasn't just another Tuesday in November. It was a statement. For anyone living between Johnstown and the northern edges of the Allegheny Mountains, the numbers didn't just tell a story of who won or lost—they showed a county that had fundamentally shifted its political identity over the last decade. Honestly, if you grew up here, you remember a time when the "D" next to a name was the standard. Not anymore.
The Big Picture: Top of the Ticket
Let's cut to the chase. Donald Trump didn't just win Cambria County; he dominated it. Looking at the official tallies, Trump brought home 48,085 votes, which accounts for roughly 68.1% of the total. On the other side, Joe Biden pulled in 21,730 votes, or about 30.8%.
Wait, let's look at those numbers again. That's a massive gap. We're talking a margin of nearly 38 percentage points. For a county that used to be a reliable stronghold for blue-collar Democrats, those figures are kind of staggering. The "Blue Wall" in this part of Pennsylvania hasn't just been cracked; it's basically been dismantled and carted away.
Turnout was Through the Roof
People actually showed up. Like, really showed up. Cambria saw a voter turnout that hit roughly 80.95%. Think about that. Out of 88,508 registered voters, more than 71,000 made their voices heard. That is high-level engagement.
- Total Registered Voters: 88,508
- Total Ballots Cast: 71,643
- Trump (REP): 48,085
- Biden (DEM): 21,730
- Jorgensen (LIB): 759
The Mail-In Factor
You can't talk about the 2020 cycle without talking about the mail-in ballots. It was the "COVID election," after all. The split here was fascinating.
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Trump's lead was built on a massive wave of Election Day, in-person voting. He grabbed 41,101 votes at the polls on Tuesday. Biden, however, actually won the mail-in count in Cambria County. Biden received 10,878 mail-in votes compared to Trump’s 6,429.
This created that "red mirage" effect we saw across the state. If you were watching the results on election night at 10:00 PM, it looked like a total shutout. But as the mail-ins were processed—which, by law, the county couldn't start until 7:00 AM on Election Day—the margin shrunk, though obviously not enough to flip the county.
Down-Ballot Dominance and One Local Exception
It wasn't just the Presidency. The red wave swept through most of the state and local races too.
In the race for Attorney General, Republican Heather Heidelbaugh took 61.5% of the county’s vote, though she ultimately lost the statewide race to Josh Shapiro. For State Treasurer, Stacy Garrity pulled 62.8% in Cambria.
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But there is one guy who always seems to buck the trend. Frank Burns.
In the 72nd Legislative District, Democrat Frank Burns managed to hang on. He secured 16,886 votes (52.7%) against Republican Amy Bradley’s 15,150 (47.3%). In a county that went nearly 70% for Trump, Burns’ ability to win his seat is a case study in local name recognition and "old-school" retail politics. He basically ran a campaign that focused on being a local guy rather than a national partisan, and it worked.
Why This Still Matters for 2026 and Beyond
Some people think 2020 was a fluke. It wasn't. If you compare it to 2016, Trump actually increased his raw vote total in Cambria. He went from roughly 42,000 votes in 2016 to over 48,000 in 2020.
The county has seen a steady decline in Democratic registration. For decades, the labor unions and the steel mills kept this area blue. But as the industry changed, so did the culture. The values that resonate here now—energy independence, manufacturing, and a certain brand of populism—are currently owned by the GOP in the eyes of many locals.
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Misconceptions About the "Steel City" Vote
A lot of outsiders look at Johnstown and think "industrial wasteland." That's a lazy trope. While the mills aren't what they were in the 1970s, the vote in Cambria isn't just a "protest vote" from people who are angry. It’s a deliberate alignment with a party that they feel hears them.
Biden’s 30% performance shows that the Democratic base in the county has shrunk to the urban core of Johnstown and a few pockets of academic or healthcare professionals. Outside of those zones, it's deep red territory.
Actionable Insights for the Future
If you're trying to understand where Cambria County goes from here, keep an eye on registration trends. Even as of 2024 and 2025, the gap between R and D continues to widen.
- Watch the Registration: If Democratic registration continues to slide below the 40% mark, the county becomes nearly impossible for a statewide Democrat to "lose well."
- The "Burns" Strategy: Local candidates who want to win as Democrats in this environment have to distance themselves from national "identity politics" and stick to labor, infrastructure, and local services.
- Turnout Persistence: The 80% turnout in 2020 set a new bar. If turnout drops back to the 60s in future cycles, the GOP's raw numbers will take a hit, but their percentage dominance likely stays.
The Cambria County 2020 election results weren't just a one-off event. They were the culmination of a twenty-year shift. Understanding that shift is the only way to predict what happens in the next big Pennsylvania showdown. If you want to dive deeper into the specific precinct data, you can check the official Cambria County Election Office archives for the block-by-block breakdown.