(Reuters) – The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically reshaped the Democratic presidential nominating calendar, forcing many states to curtail in-person voting or delay primary contests to May or June in an attempt to limit the health risks.
FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about responses to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
As a result, April will be a lighter month than expected in the race to pick a challenger to Republican President Donald Trump for the November general election. The outbreak has knocked Democratic front-runner Joe Biden and rival Bernie Sanders off the campaign trail in recent weeks.
Three states with contests originally scheduled on Saturday – Hawaii, Alaska and Wyoming – eliminated in-person voting and extended the deadlines for voting by mail. Hawaii gave voters unti