Biden: Dem Convention Should Be Postponed

'I think it's going to have to move into August'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 2, 2020 4:47 AM CDT
Joe Biden Says Dem Convention Should Be Delayed
In this March 9, 2020 photo, Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit.   (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Joe Biden is on course to become the Democratic nominee—but it may not become official until a lot later than expected. The candidate said Wednesday night that the Democratic National Convention should be pushed back from July to August because of the coronavirus pandemic, the New York Times reports. The convention is currently scheduled for July 13-16 in Milwaukee. "I doubt whether the Democratic convention is going to be able to be held in mid-July, early July," Biden said on the Tonight Show. "I think it's going to have to move into August." Biden has an almost insurmountable delegate lead over Bernie Sanders, but postponing the convention will give him less time to spend party funds reserved for a general election campaign against President Trump.

Before Biden's remarks Wednesday, Democratic National Convention chief executive Joe Solomonese said organizers have to "balance protecting the health and well-being of convention attendees and our host city with our responsibility to deliver this historic and critical occasion." Other party officials say it is doubtful whether a traditional convention, with close to 5,000 delegates and thousands of other attendees, will take place at all. Options including a virtual convention or a drastically downsized gathering are being considered. A traditional convention is "out of the question at this point," veteran Pennsylvania superdelegate Ian Murray tells CBS. "I don't see where we're going to be able to all gather in a petri dish in Milwaukee with the coronavirus." (GOP organizers say they are still "fully committed" to holding their convention in North Carolina in August.)

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