States governed largely by Republicans are spearheading reopenings amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while most Democratic governors are keeping their residents inside under stay-at-home orders.
Both sides claim their actions are not politically motivated. But politics has been inextricably linked to the coronavirus from the outset, with critics of President Trump lambasting him for what they called a tardy response, and Republicans warning of government overreach in closing down businesses.
Now, with elections six months out, governors’ approaches to the issue largely line up with levels of support for Trump, as he faces a November challenge from presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. The president has nudged governors toward quicker reopenings, as the economy craters and unemployment skyrockets.
“I came from the business world,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, who allowed some businesses to start reopening on April 24, told the Washington Examiner. “I don’t think of it through the political lens as the CEO of the state.”
Oklahoma began allowing personal care businesses to reopen for appointments last Friday, along with restaurants, dining rooms, movie theaters, sporting venues, and gyms. They must maintain “strict social distancing and sanitation protocols.” Bars, though, are still shuttered.
“My goal was, number one, to protect the health and lives of Oklahomans, and then to mitigate the impact of Oklahoma’s economy and get our Oklahomans working back safely. And so that was the two objectives from the very beginning,” said Stitt, elected in 2018 after a career in financial services.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, allowed for 77 of the state’s 99 counties to reopen restaurants, fitness centers, retail stores, and enclosed malls at half capacity starting Friday. Additionally, she lifted the prohibition on religious gatherings of over 10 people.
“There’s nothing political about what we’re dealing with the coronavirus,” Reynolds told the Washington Examiner. “This is about the life and livelihood of Iowans and Americans, and that’s why every decision that I’ve made has been based on data provided to me by a team of experts with our epidemiologist team and the Department of Public Health in coordination with the CDC, as well as governors all across this country and colleagues with my expert team.”
Still, Reynolds has faced resistance from Democrats in Iowa, including first-term Rep. Cindy Axne, who in early April called for a statewide stay-at-home order.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a New York Democrat who announced Monday that none of the 10 regions of New York state are ready to reopen, has repeatedly insisted his actions during the pandemic are not motivated by politics. Even as his public opinion polls rise and some Democrats have expressed a desire for Cuomo to head the 2020 Democratic ticket rather than Biden.
“I’m not running for anything, I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be governor of New York state until the people kick me out,” said Cuomo, first elected governor in 2010. “I have no political agenda, and I’ve stayed 100 miles away from politics, just so people know.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Michigan Democrat, who earned national attention after ordering some of the most stringent social distancing policies in the country, is a running mate possibility for Biden. But national political attention, including torrents of criticism, hasn’t changed Whitmer’s approach to combating the COVID-19 pandemic, she insists. Particularly her well-publicized feud with Trump over equipment supplies to Michigan and other issues.
“None of the comments I have made have been a personal attack in nature,” Whitmer said about Trump to Fox News anchor Chris Wallace. “I don’t wage those kind of political attacks.”
