Democrats tested in first party convention of pandemic era

Joe Biden is poised to unveil his vision for the modern Democratic Party in the first presidential nominating convention of the coronavirus era, an all-virtual affair that will test the former vice president's ability to overcome unprecedented logistical challenges in an urgent mission to energize a winning coalition. The Democratic National Convention, which formally begins Monday, is not a convention in the traditional sense. The program will consist instead of a series of online video addresses — half of which will be pre-recorded — that play out for two hours each night until Biden formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination in a mostly empty Delaware ballroom on Thursday.