Democrats delay national convention until August

The Democratic National Committee is delaying its presidential nominating convention until the week of Aug. 17 after prospective nominee Joe Biden said he didn’t think it would be possible to hold a normal convention in mid-July because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Convention CEO Joe Solmonese confirmed the decision in a statement Thursday.

“In our current climate of uncertainty, we believe the smartest approach is to take additional time to monitor how this situation unfolds so we can best position our party for a safe and successful convention,” Solmonese said.

Biden on Wednesday night told NBC late-night Jimmy Fallon that he doubted “whether the Democratic convention is going to be able to be held” on its original July 13-16 schedule in Milwaukee.

“I think it’s going to have move into August,” Biden said. “You just have to be prepared for the alternative, and the alternative — we don’t know what it’s going to be.”

Those comments are the furthest Biden had gone in predicting a delay for the convention, which would mark the start of the general election campaign. The coronavirus pandemic is forcing Democrats and Republicans to take a close look at whether they’ll be able to move forward as planned with their summer conventions. Republicans plan to gather Aug. 24-27 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Normal schedule ‘hard to envision’

In an interview earlier this week with MSNBC, Biden said it’s “hard to envision” a normal convention on that schedule. But the former vice president also noted on “The 11th Hour with Brian Williams” that Democrats “have more time” to figure things out as party officials consider contingencies that could range from an outright delay to making parts of the proceedings virtual so that not as many people attend.

“We were able to do it in the middle of a Civil War all the way through to World War II, have Democratic and Republican conventions and primaries and elections and still have public safety,” Biden said on MSNBC. “We’re able to do both.”

Republicans, meanwhile, are expressing confidence they can pull off their convention as scheduled, but party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel still allows for the possibility that the pandemic could upend GOP plans.

Democratic National Committee authorities based in Milwaukee are exploring various options should social distancing recommendations still be in effect in the summer months. Convention CEO Solmonese hasn’t publicly detailed any specifics, promising only that “we will balance protecting the health and well-being of convention attendees and our host city with our responsibility to deliver this historic and critical occasion.”

Solmonese and his aides are expected in the coming weeks to present party Chairman Tom Perez with options. But Democrats’ lingering nominating contest could complicate what happens next. Biden holds a prohibitive delegate lead that makes him the prospective nominee, but Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders remains in the race and insists he has a “narrow” path to the nomination.

With many states pushing back their primaries, Sanders potentially could block Biden from accruing the required delegate majority until late June, just weeks before the current convention dates.

Republicans don’t face the internal party uncertainty, though they still must weigh the same public health scenarios.

McDaniel, the RNC chairwoman, said she thinks “we should be out of this” by the end of August. In an interview, she said Republicans already have raised the money necessary for the convention and have the staff hired and in place.