Terry McAuliffe, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has doubts that Democrats will be able to hold their convention this summer.
McAuliffe, who was also the governor of Virginia, said Wednesday it’s “very unlikely” there will be a convention.
“Sure, it’s possible we have a convention,” he said during an online forum with the Meridian International Center. “I personally think it’s probably most unlikely that we have one.”
Citing the coronavirus pandemic, McAuliffe noted that it’s a “very difficult environment” for the party to raise money to fund the event. He encouraged Democrats to start planning for other options if they can’t hold the convention in person.
“The TV networks are going to give you the equal time that you would have at the convention, so come up with something clever around the country to do it to get the same media exposure,” McAuliffe said.
“If we don’t have it, it’s not the end of the world. We’ll do a virtual one. Actually, it could save us a lot of big headaches,” he added, referring to “mischief” that could occur when crafting the party’s platform.
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said earlier this month the party may have to do a virtual convention if the coronavirus crisis is not under control by late summer. Biden had already nudged the DNC to postpone its July convention in Milwaukee until August, which it did.
[Related: Democrats’ dilemma: Coronavirus at the convention?]
