Governors Who Opposed COVID Lockdowns See Margins of Victory Rise in 2022

In the 2022 midterm elections, governors who opposed prolonged COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and quickly allowed their states to reopen had an easier time winning reelection than they had in the 2018 elections.
In the Nov. 8 midterm elections, Govs. Brian Kemp of Georgia, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, and Jared Polis of Colorado all easily secured reelection, by an average of 18.1 percentage points.
The anti-lockdown governors’ wide victories contrasted sharply with 2018, when the same five candidates prevailed by an average of 3.7 points.
Florida
Among the governors, DeSantis stood out with a 19.4-point victory margin in his reelection in 2022 compared to 0.4 points in winning his first election for governor four years ago….}