Joe Biden previously missed a state party convention in June and a summer Democratic National Committee meeting in August, both of which were in San Francisco and drew most 2020 hopefuls to California. | Getty Images Biden to snub California Democratic convention — again

SAN FRANCISCO — Joe Biden has decided to skip a major Democratic Party meeting in California for the third time this year — even though the former vice president will be campaigning in the state the same week in November.

California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks announced Wednesday on Twitter that six Democratic candidates have agreed to participate in a televised Univision presidential forum that will occur during the state party convention Nov. 15-17 in Long Beach.


Hicks thanked Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Beto O'Rourke and Andrew Yang for agreeing to appear. The party is still waiting to confirm Elizabeth Warren, said CDP spokesperson Roger Salazar.

All Democratic candidates were invited to attend, though the Univision forum is limited to eight candidates due to time constraints, Salazar said.

Biden’s team has announced he will be in California the day before the convention — but has also said that he plans to head to Washington state on the first day of the Long Beach event expected to draw more than 5,000 California party activists.

He previously missed a state party convention in June and a summer Democratic National Committee meeting in August, both of which were in San Francisco and drew most 2020 hopefuls to California.

It’s unclear why he’s passing on the Long Beach convention. His campaign said Thursday in a statement that Biden is "looking forward to returning to the West Coast to meet with voters face-to-face" and that he recognizes that California and Nevada will be crucial in the Democratic primary.

Biden drew criticism from many in the party’s grassroots ranks when he missed the state party convention in June, where a dozen 2020 hopefuls appeared. His absence handed Sanders an opportunity to deliver a veiled jab from the podium when he referenced “those who have chosen for whatever reason not to be in this room” as Democrats talk about “the best way forward," to beat Trump.

The former VP’s supporters said at the time that it was no surprise that Biden bypassed the events in San Francisco, one of the nation’s most liberal bastions, where progressives might have directed boos and jeers at him. They said he would better boost his campaign through events and fundraisers with more moderate supporters than the most dedicated party activists, who tend to skew left.

The upcoming convention, however, is in Long Beach — still a Democratic stronghold but less liberal than San Francisco.