But Parson’s diagnosis of coronavirus has ensured that the pandemic is the central issue as he fights for another period against a fierce critic of public health policies. And while Trump’s 19-point advantage in Missouri in 2016 gives Parson a barrier the president does not have against former Vice President Joe Biden, the Missouri Republican still faces an intense and well-funded challenge from state auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat. The only state-elected office and a fierce critic of Parson’s response to the coronavirus.
Galloway Latest announcement This week he told voters “Missouri in the” red zone “for increased coronavirus cases and attacked the incumbent over his opposition to Medicaid expansion. Back in August, Missouri voters approved the expansion of Medicaid, so the next governor will be responsible to help implement it.
“Parson fundamentally lacked leadership in his response due to political fear that his supporters were listening to Trump,” said Roy Temple, a veteran Democratic strategist and former state party leader. “He was too reticent to do anything … and somehow he’s less aggressive than Trump – shocking as it is for me to say it out loud.”
But with Parson’s diagnosis nearing one week before Trump’s diagnosis, Republicans from Missouri and seasoned Republican strategists say the governor’s handling of his illness could ultimately help him attract voters – and could even serve as a model for Trump to get a leg in his re-election campaign. . After trailing Biden in recent national polls and state polls.
“This is an era in which there is no textbook for how to deal with any of this – a pandemic, diagnosed in the middle of the campaign,” said John Hancock, president of the Parson Uniting Missouri PAC and former president of the Republican Party.
“But the governor has put out a very impressive book in reassuring Missouri residents daily that he’s getting on well with that situation. As much as the president can follow what Mike Parson has done in being public and transparent, he should.”
Parson posted videos on his site Facebook page Almost daily to provide updates on how he feels while isolated in the Governor’s Palace. He is due to end the quarantine on Saturday and plans to return to his official duties and campaign next week. A debate between Parson and Galloway next Friday has been postponed.
Parson’s campaign manager, Steele Shaby, said the pandemic was and will remain a core part of the campaign, citing the governor’s push to reopen schools, and the state’s economy and public health recover.
For its part, Galloway’s campaign argued that Parson is now focusing more on the virus months after he, like Trump, declared victory in his handling of the pandemic while cases continued to grow. Galloway spokesman Kevin Donohue said: “With Parson, it often appears that at times he is paying more attention to his party’s politics than is necessary to defeat the virus.”
In the past seven days, Missouri has seen more than 9,300 new cases, making it behind only six other states with the highest rates. The total number New cases. However, deaths have decreased – with a 53 percent decrease in the number of deaths over the past seven days compared to the previous seven days before that, according to the latest figures from Missouri Department of Health and Elderly Services.
Parson, who took office in 2018 after the resignation of beleaguered governor Eric Gritz, refused to issue a statewide order to cover the face, saying the decision is up to citizens and local officials. In July, he was photographed unmasked in a frying pan at the Missouri Cattlemen Association, where Springfield News-Leader reported He told the attendees, “You don’t need the government to tell you to wear a dang mask. If you want to wear a dang mask, wear a mask.”
Like Trump, he made headlines this year for his message about the pandemic, which was sometimes seen as insensitive or too far from the norm. In June, Parson He said he didn’t feel guilty About a slight increase in cases that followed his decision to reopen the country. One Democratic strategist pointed out how this comment reminds us of what Trump said in March, “I don’t take responsibility at all.” Because of the US lack of widespread testing.
In July, Parson met with Trump in Washington to press for the school to reopen. There, he acknowledged the president’s role in pressuring conservatives to reopen states and schools.
“I’ll tell you this: On some of the phone calls I’ve had with him, he can squeeze you a little if he tells you – if he decides to do so.” Parson said in the meeting with Trump, “Sometimes, we all need a little nudge to get things started.”
Later that month, it made national headlines He says on a radio show in St. Louis That children will be infected with Coronavirus in school. He said, “They will return to their homes, and they will overcome it.”
However, Parson is better placed in Missouri polls than Trump is nationally. In the pollsParson consistently led Galloway, although Democrats say Biden’s patriotic momentum could help them bridge the gap, especially in some traditionally Republican suburbs around St.Louis, where Trump and the Republican Party are not increasingly popular. Hancock, the Parson ally running the super PAC, rolled back Biden’s influence in Missouri because the Democratic presidential nominee campaign was not active in the state.
But Temple, the former Democratic president, said it would ultimately depend on Parson, who was not previously elected to governorship, and Galloway’s ability to build a profile – not Trump and Biden – in recent weeks.
This is more than a jump ball. Temple said the country – like much of a nation with Trump – is divided in their reactions.
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