A key Democratic official seems resigned to the prospect of a partially virtual convention after refusing to acknowledge the possibility publicly for months.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic pushed his convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, back a month, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez has met Republican posturing over their desire to hold an in-person event amid the outbreak with similar rhetoric — until now.
“We’re not going to put the people of Milwaukee, or our delegates, in harm’s way. It’s not an either/or — you either have a full convention, or you have a virtual convention. There are gradations in between,” Perez told Sirius XM’s Joe Madison Show last week.
DNC Chair @TomPerez on the Dem convention: “We’re not going to put the people of Milwaukee, or our delegates, in harm’s way. It’s not an either/or — you either have a full convention or you have a virtual convention. There are gradations in between.” (via @MadisonSiriusXM)
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) June 4, 2020
The former Obama administration labor secretary previously insisted Democrats delayed their convention by a month, rescheduling it from mid-July to Aug. 17-20, “to maximize” the likelihood of a “muscular,” in-person spectacle.
Yet, Wisconsin Democrats and Milwaukee leaders, such as state Sen. Lena Taylor, told the Washington Examiner last month they would be “surprised” if there were a traditional, in-person convention in the city. Joe Biden, the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, also foresees the four-day gathering being truncated into “two nights in a row, three hours of prime time.” The party passed a raft of rule changes to allow the organizing committee the flexibility to put together a virtual event if need be as well.
As Democrats weigh their options, Republicans are searching for another, last-minute host after President Trump repeatedly threatened to yank part of their convention from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced last week the party was looking for an alternate host after Democratic state leaders refused to guarantee that the GOP’s 19,000 delegates, officials, guests, and members of the press expected to descend on the city a week later from Aug. 24-27 would be able to attend the confab.
Florida RNC member Kathleen King, whose state is one of those vying to become a replacement, confirmed the party’s thinking to the Washington Examiner.
“Should Gov. [Roy] Cooper allow more than 10 people in a room, we still hope to conduct official business of the convention in Charlotte. The celebration of the president’s acceptance of the Republican nomination will be held in another city,” she said.
