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How Anti-Mask Politics Are Scrambling Indiana’s Governor’s Race
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Race
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| Contributor | IndyGeorgia |
| Last Edited | IndyGeorgia Oct 19, 2020 02:18pm |
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| Category | Perspective |
| Author | Adam Wren |
| News Date | Saturday, October 17, 2020 12:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — Gunfire echoed and the acrid smell of burnt gunpowder filled the autumn air on a recent weeknight as a group of about 100 unmasked voters took turns firing on targets at Bare Arms Shooting, an outdoor gun range in this northern suburb of Indianapolis.
They arrived at this fundraiser to support Libertarian gubernatorial nominee Donald Rainwater, a candidate who was, until this summer, a total obscurity.
Indiana is a staunchly Republican state, and its staunchly Republican, cowboy-boot-wearing governor, Eric Holcomb, seemed like a shoo-in for much of the campaign. A one-time staffer for heavy-hitting Hoosiers including former Gov. Mitch Daniels, Sen. Dan Coats and Vice President Mike Pence’s lieutenant governor, he raked in millions of dollars for his reelection bid, triangulated his Democratic candidate by wooing labor unions and sidelined the high-dollar political arm of Indiana teachers union, which didn’t make an endorsement in the race. Holcomb’s Democratic challenger barely has a campaign, with so little money he still hasn’t run a TV ad.
Early on during the pandemic, Holcomb proved to be something of a steady hand on the tiller, taking the threat of Covid-19 seriously, and deferring to the counsel of the state’s top health officials. He issued a robust stay-at-home order on March 24, shuttering nonessential businesses. He didn’t go as far as Northeastern Republican governors like Phil Scott of Vermont, Larry Hogan of Maryland or Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, but did go further than Ron DeSantis of Florida and Kim Reynolds of Iowa, who resisted instituting strict Covid precautions.
Most controversially, Holcomb has kept a mask order in place, requiring Hoosiers to wear masks when indoors or in public places where social distancing isn’t possible. And for Rainwater, that was all the opportunity he needed. |
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