Skip to main content

Chris Adolph's research shows partisan effect on COVID-19 response

CSSS core faculty member and Associate Professor of Political Science, Chris Adolph, has been leading a team investigating the effects of partisan politics on the implementation of social distancing measures in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. 

Chris, along with colleagues Kenya Amano, Bree Bang-Jensen, Nancy Fullman, and John Wilkerson, used state-level social distancing policy responses to explore how political partisanship, COVID-19 caseload, and policy diffusion can explain the timing of governors' decisions to mandate social distancing in U.S. states.

Their analysis finds that the most important predictors are political:  Republican governors and governors from states with more Trump supporters were slower to adopt social distancing policies, potentially leading to negative health consequences.  The research is being updated as the situation evolves. 

The working paper is available at medRxiv, and has received attention from variety of outlets including Science The EconomistNewsweek, and UW News.

Adoption of social distancing policies.