Democratic National Committee Postponing 2020 Convention Due to Coronavirus

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The Democratic National Committee has announced that they will postpone their 2020 presidential convention until mid-August in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The DNC’s decision comes after multiple states said they would push back their primaries out of concern for the lack of social distancing if elections went ahead as scheduled. The New York Times reports that the convention is still expected to take place in Milwaukee, but will be postponed from mid-July to August 17.

“This is the right decision for the safety of those involved in the convention and for Milwaukee,” Alex Lasry, an official with the Milwaukee Bucks, told the Times. “An August convention will provide a much-needed economic boost for Milwaukee and Wisconsin as we come out of this unprecedented time.”

Joe Biden, the former vice president and leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, said in recent days that he expected the convention to be pushed back a month. This coincides with how President Donald Trump recently acknowledged the dangers of the pandemic and backed off of his push to have the country drop social distancing policies before the end of April.

Bernie Sanders’ opinion of the convention’s postponement isn’t clear, but he has urged states to either postpone their primaries or allow citizens to mail in their votes amid the pandemic. The Vermont senator says he intends on staying in the race, insisting that he still has a shot at the nomination despite Biden’s lead in delegates.