Scott Powers
Joe Biden is not coming to Tampa Thursday after all.
His presidential campaign announced late Tuesday that the get-out-the-vote rally he was to lead in Tampa Thursday evening has been replaced with an address about the new coronavirus he intends to make from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
“On Thursday, March 12, Joe Biden will deliver remarks in Wilmington, Delaware on responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency. The remarks will occur in place of the previously scheduled event in Tampa, Florida,” his campaign announced Tuesday evening.
The Wilmington speech is set for 1 p.m., pretty much clearing the entire day for Biden.
Biden has yet to make a public appearance in Florida this year in support of his presidential campaign heading into next Tuesday’s Florida Democratic primary with Bernie Sanders. Sanders also has not made a public appearance in Florida.
Both candidates canceled rallies in Cleveland that had been set for Tuesday night out of concerns for the spread of the new coronavirus.
At this point, the Florida primary is looking like a fait accompli regardless. Polls, including one released yesterday by Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative shows Biden with a commanding lead in Florida. That poll shows the former Vice President up 36 points, 61% to 25%, over the Senator from Vermont. Likewise, a St. Pete Polls survey the week before found Biden leading Sanders 61% to 12%, though there were three other active Democrats when that poll was taken.
Florida now has 23 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease caused by the new coronavirus, and two people have died. The latest tally includes a new case reported in Hillsborough County.
