The U.S. presidential race has intensified as the Democratic National Convention (DNC) kicks off on Monday, less than 80 days before the general election.

The 2020 DNC, which was scheduled to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July, is now turned into an almost all-virtual event beginning Monday and running through Thursday, due to safety concerns amid a lingering COVID-19 pandemic that has killed over 170,000 Americans.

The four-night program themed "Uniting America," beginning at 9 p.m. and ending at 11 p.m. ET, will be livestreamed on the DNC website and its social media handles, including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

According to the DNC, each night of the convention will feature "both live and curated content originating from Milwaukee and other satellite cities, locations and landmarks across the country." Party business will occur remotely during the daytime, with caucus and council meetings scheduled throughout.

Former Vice President Joe Biden will be formally nominated during the convention as the Democratic presidential nominee to try to unseat President Donald Trump in November.

Biden will give his acceptance speech Thursday night and his 2020 running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, will deliver hers Wednesday night. Former first lady Michelle Obama is headlining Monday's addresses on the "series of monumental challenges" facing Americans -- the ongoing pandemic, economic recession and racism and inequality in the country.

The DNC comes as a latest Washington Post-ABC News poll found Biden leading Trump by 53 percent to 41 percent among registered voters.

GOP COUNTER-ACTIONS

As Democrats look to boost Biden with the convention, Trump and the Republican Party have scheduled many counter-programings, on and off line, in several battleground states this week, including Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Arizona.

On Monday, Trump will travel to Wisconsin and Minnesota to deliver remarks on jobs and the economy. He will campaign in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, where he is expected to take on Biden hours before he officially accepts the Democratic nomination.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that the Trump campaign is spending "high seven figures" on an intensive digital ad campaign during the Democratic convention -- including a banner ad on the YouTube homepage for 96 hours, beginning Tuesday.

Democrats launched a cable TV ad Monday calling Trump's visit to Wisconsin "a political stunt that's putting human lives at risk," reported Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday.

The ad by the DNC starts by discussing Trump's June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the spike in coronavirus cases in that city in the weeks afterward. "Now Trump is coming to Wisconsin for a political stunt that puts you at risk," the narrator says in the ad.

The president's campaign also put up digital billboards in Milwaukee mocking Biden for not appearing in person at the DNC. "Where's Joe?" the billboards ask.