Tennessee Democrats Move to Remote Congressional District Conventions

Just under two weeks since the Tennessee presidential primary and a little more than a week since the county conventions in the Volunteer state, the coronavirus has stepped in to disrupt the delegate selection process there. 

District conventions were set to take place across the state this coming weekend on Saturday, March 21. County selectors, as they are called in Tennessee, were elected from respective presidential preference groups at the March 7 county conventions to attend the district conventions and select national convention delegates from those districts. 

That will still happen this weekend, but the Tennessee Democratic Party "out of an abundance of caution" has moved the process to a remote teleconferencing format in order to tamp down on the spread of the virus that is causing a wave of shut downs and cancelations across the country. 

Life has been greatly affected and that extends to the delegate selection process occurring quietly behind primaries and caucuses as they happen. Not many delegates have been selected yet, but the pace is getting ready to pick steam as the calendar turns to April. Tennessee joins South Carolina Democrats in making moves to limit in-person gatherings. Whether and to what extent other state parties react remains an open question at this point. But it is a developing story as the coronavirus situation evolves. 

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Tennessee Democratic Party press release archived here.