Primary elections were held yesterday in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Montana and South Dakota. Practically no one noticed.
Full tallies are not yet in, but preliminary results indicate that Joe Biden is just shy of the 1,991 delegates he needs to win the nomination on the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention in August. Primary elections scheduled for next week in West Virginia and Georgia are likely to close that gap.
The de facto end of primary season puts the nominating conventions next up on this election season calendar. As it stands today, the Democrats are to convene starting August 17 in Milwaukee. That date represents a postponement from the originally scheduled start date of July 13.
The Republicans are scheduled to begin one week later in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Every bit of that could change.
Yesterday, in a series of tweets, President Trump indicated that the Republicans are pulling out of Charlotte because North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, says that because of COVID-19 concerns, he cannot guarantee that the state will allow a full gathering inside the Spectrum Center.
The discussions about a scaled down convention have stopped and now they have demanded a full, 19,000-person crowd at the inside arena in Charlotte. We continue to say we want to talk with you about a scaled down convention, but we cannot guarantee you that at the end of August, you can have a full arena.”
Other cities appear to be anxious to step up. Nashville, Tennesseehas been mentioned by the Republican National Committee. Rep. Doug Collins, a Republican who represents Georgia’s 9thCongressional District, in apparent agreement with Gov. Brian Kemp, is offering Atlanta.
Georgia’s on our mind. This is a great place to be. It’s a great place for the president and it’s a great place for us and we’re proud and agree with the governor, if they want to come here, if North Carolina doesn’t want it, come on down to Georgia. We got plenty for you.”
A version of Newton’s Third Law of Physics – for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction — operates in politics. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi weighed in on the topic of the conventions last Saturday.
I don’t think there’s anyone who would say at this point that tens of thousands of people should come together for a political convention, no matter how great an ego trip it is for somebody. It’s dangerous for so many.”
Does that mean that the Democrats will not gather as currently planned in Milwaukee? No one at the Democratic National Committee is saying. Does that mean a virtual convention of some sort for the Dems and a live convention for the Republicans a week later?
And if it plays out that way, who wins the optics battle? Do the Dems look prudent and the Republicans look reckless? Or do the Republicans look confident and the Dems look frightened?
I’m tired of saying it and you’re tired of hearing it. But this is an election season like no other.