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Democratic National Convention postponed until August due to coronavirus pandemic

Posted at 12:09 PM, Apr 02, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-02 12:24:12-04

MILWAUKEE -- The 2020 Democratic National Convention has officially been postponed until August due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Democratic Party announced Thursday.

The convention was originally scheduled for July 13-17. It will now be held the week of August 17.

“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. 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 health care professionals and emergency responders,” said Joe Solmonese, CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee. “I have always believed that American innovation and ingenuity shine brightest during our darkest days, and for that reason, I’m confident our convention planning team and our partners will find a way to deliver a convention in Milwaukee this summer that places our Democratic nominee on the path to victory in November.

The decision to postpone the July convention came after the Democratic National Committee faced mounting pressure from party officials.

Tuesday, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said in an interview to MSNBC that it was “hard to envision” the convention going as planned in July.