Virtual campaigning marks new normal for election season
CHICAGO – Joe Biden held a town hall in Illinois – or at least tried to – from 800 miles away in Delaware. Bernie Sanders is staging daily news conferences from Vermont, instead of his usual rallies across the country with thousands of supporters.
The global coronavirus pandemic has sent the 2020 presidential campaign into a virtual phase.
Big rallies and handshakes are out. Virtual phone banks and town halls are the new normal. Political parties and groups are canceling in-person gatherings.
States holding primaries in coming weeks have urged more voters to cast ballots by mail and extended hours for early voting centers to avoid election day crowds. On Friday, Louisiana’s governor said he planned to postpone his state’s April 4 primary to June.
The Biden campaign scrapped plans for a Chicago rally ahead of Illinois’ Tuesday primary because of warnings from public and health officials against large gatherings. Instead, the Democratic front-runner was supposed to take questions Friday in a virtual town hall via Facebook live.
But it was a rocky start. The livestream started after Biden had begun speaking, cutting off his introduction, and at one point Biden – holding a cell phone in his hand – turned and walked partially off camera, so viewers could no longer see his face. The stream lasted less than five minutes before wrapping up, with the campaign apologizing for “technical difficulties.”
“I’m sorry this has been such a disjointed effort here because of the connections,” Biden said after answering a question about protecting endangered species. “There’s a lot more to say but I’ve already probably said too much to you.”
Sanders, Biden’s rival for the Democratic nomination, has been holding daily press briefings from his home state, where he has criticized President Donald Trump and his administration’s response to the virus. Biden did the same in an address Thursday.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Sanders was subdued – the emotional opposite of the big rallies that have helped fuel his support at the polls. He drew more than 10,000 people a week ago at a Chicago rally, before officials starting warning against large events. Sanders said his team has mastered the use of internet campaigning, livestreaming almost all of its events already.
COVID-19 causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, for most people. It can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, for some people, especially older adults and those with existing health problems. Most people recover from it. Those with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness might take three to six weeks to recover, according to the World Health Organization.
With the coronavirus causing a sea change in presidential campaigning, candidates and their supporters worry that the virtual events won’t have the same impact.
“We do more rallies than anybody else, and (they’re) often very well-attended. I love to do them,” Sanders told reporters at a hotel in his home state of Vermont. “This coronavirus has obviously impacted our ability to communicate with people in the traditional way that we do. That’s hurting.”
In Chicago, Biden volunteer Lally Doerrer was preparing to have a few other supporters over to her home Friday to watch the virtual town hall. The retiree finished an online MBA program a few years ago and said it helped familiarize her with technology like virtual classrooms and the potential for it to reach many more people than a rally. And although she believes canceling large gatherings is the right thing to do, she doesn’t think the virtual events will have the same effect as when people come together in person.
“There is a common physical element that comes from being face-to-face, or better yet marching side-by-side, and that’s what is lost in this,” Doerrer said.
Biden’s headquarters is transitioning to a work-at-home model for everyone, from the most senior advisers to the newest organizer.
The policy extends to field offices across the country, as well – just as the campaign was looking to build out the campaign toward a potential general election matchup against President Donald Trump. Trump has canceled rallies, for now.