Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Republicans are still less worried about the coronavirus than Democrats or independents, even as it spreads out from primarily urban areas into suburban and rural Republican-leaning areas.
Why it matters: The virus doesn't care about politics or geography. High-risk behavior in places where the virus is spreading is the recipe for an outbreak.
The big picture: For the last four weeks, counties newly designated as having a high prevalence of coronavirus cases — meaning at least 100 cases per 100,000 people — were more likely to have voted for President Trump than Hillary Clinton in 2016, according to a recent analysis by the Brookings Institution.
- The most recently identified counties tend to be in the South and the Midwest.
- Between March 29 and May 17, the portion of Americans living in high-prevalence counties rose from 8% to 79%.
What they're saying: "This suggests that rhetoric from some of the president’s supporters against maintaining public health measures may become more muted, as the nation continues to grapple with the many unknowns about COVID-19’s continued spread," writes William Frey, the author of the analysis.
Yes, but: That's not happening.
- Republicans are more willing than Democrats or independents to partake in activities that involve interacting with other people, per new polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
- Two-thirds of Republicans said either that the pandemic isn't a major problem or that the "worst is behind us." On the other hand, 70% of Democrats and half of independents said that the "the worst is yet to come."
The bottom line: How people feel about the coronavirus will undoubtedly impact the kinds of risks they are willing to take, which will in turn impact the extent of future outbreaks.
- Although it may have been true in February and March that people living in red areas were unlikely to catch the coronavirus while going about their normal lives, it's not true anymore.