The Covid Election
The pandemic has upended the 2020 U.S. election at nearly every turn, making it one of the most chaotic, irregular and unsettling political contests in recent memory.
When the presidential race began heating up at the beginning of 2020, it would have been difficult to predict the year would be so heavily defined by the coronavirus. But by the first major event of the season — the Iowa caucuses in February — the virus may have already been quietly spreading.
Initially, it seemed as though the virus was mainly striking Democratic strongholds on the East and West Coasts. But a second surge of infections during the summer pounded Republican-leaning areas across the Sun Belt. The authorities in those states imposed restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus, igniting a backlash from opponents who argued that the rules imposed on personal liberty. A national debate erupted over virus regulations, business and school closures, and mask-wearing that divided Americans largely along political lines.
As fall approached and the presidential debates arrived, a third surge of cases — the fiercest yet — was already gaining steam. The wave led to two outbreaks in the White House and sickened the president, along with hundreds of thousands of Americans in nearly every corner of the country, and dramatically complicated efforts to vote ahead of Election Day.
Our colleague Alex Burns, who covers politics for The Times, told us it’s rare to see one topic so thoroughly consume an election.
“The pandemic is unique in how all-encompassing it has been,” Alex told us. “It has not only been the main issue in the election, but it has been the defining experience of the election, day to day. It has affected campaigning at every level. It is affecting the voting. It’s the consuming issue in everyone’s lives.”
Perhaps the only comparison, Alex said, would be a wartime election, as in 2004 when John Kerry ran against George Bush. Then, the contest was about terrorism, national security and the invasion of Iraq.
“Basically, if you lost the debate on the war, you were probably not going to win the election, and that’s kind of where we find ourselves now,” Alex said. “If you lose the debate on the pandemic, it doesn’t mean you have zero chance, but it makes things much, much harder. ”
The New York Times