COVID-19 concerns fade from key Pennsylvania election | State

The change does not affect all candidates equally; GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano rose to prominence in Republican circles and won the primary in part because of his staunch opposition to pandemic-related restrictions.

Democratic candidate Josh Shapiro defended Gov. Tom Wolf’s decisions to close schools and make face coverings mandatory, but as concerns about COVID-19 eased, he pivoted. At the election campaign in August, he stated that “the people got it wrong” with shutdowns and mandates in Pennsylvania after he defended them as attorney general.

The Associated Press called the change “a politically painless way for Shapiro to take the middle ground against Mastriano.”

As the pandemic becomes a political issue, it is increasingly difficult to encourage voters about COVID-19. This is evidenced by the websites of the candidates.

“On day one, Doug Mastriano will end Wolff’s mask mandate, the vaccine mandate and his draconian restrictions on covid,” he said. company website states. “Mastriano will reject the unconstitutional edicts coming from the CDC and the Biden administration, and he will expand access to effective COVID therapies.”

He also tried to draw attention to his Medical Freedom Act, still before the General Assembly, which would ban state and employer vaccination requirements and prevent “draconian quarantine and vaccination policies” like press release stated in August.

Otherwise, the pandemic became a secondary note in Mastriano’s campaign.

So it is in a democratic campaign. For Shapiro, the pandemic doesn’t even have a politics section on its page. If it is mentioned, it is in the context of other issues.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed unique challenges in accessing health care for people around the world – from the elderly to young students, and we’ve learned that we need to do better to ensure a health care system that responds to the urgent medical needs of Pennsylvanians.” , Shapiro company website notes in the health section.

However, most of the restrictions that Mastriano criticized have disappeared, either due to official lifting or social norms returning to what they were before the pandemic.

While Pittsburgh and Philadelphia still have vaccine mandates for city workers, as Central Sq. reported earlier, most restrictions do not affect the daily lives of many Pennsylvanians. Those that can, such as limited work hours or denial of health care services, are generally federal policies.

Voters are no longer fixated on pandemic politics. Instead they concentrated on the economy, inflation, crime, elections, guns and abortion. At the national level, COVID-19 doesn’t even break 1% more so when voters are asked about important issues.

Now the emphasis is on the economy. If the candidates do talk about COVID-19 as the Nov. 8 election nears, it will be about the economy — or the mistakes of the past.