Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) will give the closing address at next week’s virtual convention held by the Texas Democratic Party, according to a report in the Texas Tribune.
The move comes as the Democratic Party continues to make a push to turn the perennial red state blue in 2020 and while the Democratic National Committee (DNC) looks poised to move ahead with plans for a virtual convention for the party’s nomination.
The news outlet reports that Biden will speak about the importance of swinging the Lone Star State into Democratic hands as a number of Democrats have called the state one of the most significant battlegrounds of the 2020 election cycle.
“Texas is the biggest battleground state in the country,” the state party’s leaders said in a statement to the Tribune. “With Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, Texas Democrats will help him win the White House. This is our moment.”
Biden’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.
The former vice president is now the party’s presumptive nominee following the withdrawal of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) from the primary contest in March. Sanders has since endorsed Biden’s candidacy.
Plans for the Democrats’ virtual conventions come in contrast to statements from Republican officials, who have vowed to hold in-person conventions this summer despite ongoing concerns about the spread of coronavirus.
“We are full steam ahead planning a traditional convention, working with our team on the ground … to conduct a traditional convention,” Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel told reporters on a call in April.
“We do not think at this time we have to switch to an alternative plan, but of course, we will monitor circumstances and adjust accordingly,” she added.
The Tribune also reported that Biden’s former Democratic rival and onetime Senate hopeful Beto O’Rourke will also speak in the final days of the state’s convention.