2020 presidential election campaigns are disrupted due to COVID-19 outbreak

In response to the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic, many of the nation’s states have declared a state of emergency and issued “stay at home” orders for their citizens, causing people to alter their way of life. Now that the virus has become a vital concern for the country, it has also disrupted the most crucial months in the 2020 presidential election. 

Amid the growing concerns of the virus, the focus of the presidential election shifted. Now it has become about who will be the best candidate to lead the country out of the anxieties and economic uncertainties stemming from the coronavirus. 

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, which originally ran on his economic success over the past four years, now relies heavily on how he handles the pandemic and responds to the declining economy. In order to maintain the public’s support, the Trump administration must come up with a solution to help the American people and prevent the economy from reaching a recession.  

Similarly, the reactions of democratic candidates, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden, have also been put under the spotlight. On March 15, Sanders and Biden took the stage and debated how they would combat the virus and improve the healthcare system. Both candidates agreed on using the United States military as a resource to help hospitals during this crisis but clashed on the idea of a government-run health care system to fight the virus.

In addition to the shift in their campaigns, the candidates were also forced to cancel and postpone upcoming rallies and meet and greets due to the outbreak. No longer able to travel the country and interact with voters in person, the candidates have turned to virtual town halls to continue their campaigns. Both Biden and Sanders have held online conferences to spread information to voters.

The coronavirus has also disrupted the 2020 primary presidential elections in 10 states and territories, causing Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Ohio, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island to postpone voting.

With White House recommendations opposing gatherings of 10 or more people, many of the states have expanded voting by mail and encouraged curbside ballot drop-offs to prevent large gatherings from occurring at the voting polls.

Six of these states have moved their primary election day to June 2, only days before the Democratic National Committee’s deadline, June 9, to hold their nomination contests for the democratic nominee.