Biden will not attend the DNC meeting in San Francisco where 13 candidates are expected

SAN FRANCISCO – Hundreds of delegates from the Democratic National Committee will be here next weekend for a three-day meeting that will give them an opportunity to meet and hear thirteen presidential candidates, even though Former vice president Joe Biden, the party's favorite being among the candidates.

Biden also avoided the party's last big meeting in San Francisco – the California Democratic Party convention, the country's biggest political party, which gathered more than 4,000 people in June.

History continues below

According to party officials, 13 candidates have confirmed their presence at events that will begin Friday. Senator Kamala Harris, former Attorney General of San Francisco and Attorney General of California, will enjoy an advantage on her home ground with the DNC crowd. The meaning Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bernie Sanders of Vermont; former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Julian Castro; Representatives Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Tim Ryan of Ohio; businessmen Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang; as well as author Marianne Williamson and Admiral Joe Sestak.

The Biden campaign announced that the former vice president would be campaigning in New Hampshire next weekend. A campaign assistant said Greg Schultz, campaign manager for Biden for the president, would attend the DNC events for him.

Another prominent candidate, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, in Indiana, who drew many crowds to San Francisco, is clearly missing from the list of attendees.

The National Democratic Committee's summer meetings, which are also open to the public and the press, are expected to attract 350 delegates over three days to San Francisco, where they will both tend to deal with the party's affairs and meet with them. candidates. This is the first time this year, the DNC members and their activists gathered in such an assembly have established close contacts with a band of hopes for 2020 – and possibly decided their approval.

"This is an excellent opportunity for DNC members to meet a large number of candidates," said Bob Mulholland, a California committee member and long-time political advisor to the party. "Some candidates will have private meetings that will never be published."

Mulholland joked that the short-circuited delegates might mean that "Iowa and New Hampshire will probably have their hotel rooms paid … while a person in a June primary will not even receive his phone calls".

Some candidates take advantage of their trip to the state to raise funds at the country's ATMs and to organize public events that will give them visibility in California – a primitive state that is home to eight major media markets and will provide a channel for nearly 500 delegates to the March 3 contest.

Sanders has already announced two events open to the public: a Sacramento City Hall on Thursday and an event in San Francisco on Friday, focused on student debt and affordable university.

Bennet will address the public Friday at a Commonwealth Club forum in San Francisco, his campaign announced.

The DNC has announced that its rules and statutes committee will meet on Thursday to review the selection plans for state party delegates, and that DNC ​​members attend a general meeting to discuss party affairs on Saturday. DNC members will also participate in caucus, council and committee meetings in San Francisco, the party said.

Mulholland said the absence of Biden could upset some feathers, but that "if someone feels left out, everything is forgotten after February".

"Whoever goes out of the (first primaries) with the most delegates is his best friend," he said. And by the time the California primary arrives, "people forget the weekend when they were stiff."