Democrats have moved their convention to start Aug. 17 as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to plague the country until the summer.
The 2020 Democratic National Convention was originally scheduled to take place in Milwaukee from July 13-16. Still set to be held in Wisconsin, the new August date falls one week before the Republican National Convention, which will be hosted in Charlotte, North Carolina, from Aug. 24-27.
But Joe Solmonese, CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee, indicated on Thursday the shifted timeline won’t be the only difference between the 2020 convention and previous iterations.
“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 wrote in a statement. “During this critical time, when the scope and scale of the pandemic and its impact remain unknown, we will continue to monitor the situation and follow the advice of healthcare professionals and emergency responders.”
Possible modifications include adjusting the convention’s format to crowd size and schedule, the DNC added.
Presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden hinted late Wednesday a change was imminent.
“I doubt whether the Democratic convention is going to be able to be held in mid-July, early July, I think it’s going to have to move into August,” the two-term vice president told NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “We just have to be prepared for the alternative.”
The convention was put in doubt after the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games was pushed back one year until the summer of 2021 because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The party had initially scheduled its convention around the sporting event.
