BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK- PEOPLE
43CHARACTERISTICS ○ Republicans and “low-propensity” Democrats and independents for whom the Trump
administration's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic is the decisive factorAGE ○ Mostly 55+Initially,thecoronaviruspandemicboostedTrump’sapprovalrating.Butashisadministration’sbotchedhandlingofthe
crisisbecameclearer,andinfectionsanddeathsmounted,researchfromthedatafirmOptimusfoundit activatedtwogroups
ofvoterswhoposea threattohispresidency:Republicansforwhomthecoronaviruswasthelaststraw,andDemocraticand
independentvoterswhodon’talwaysvote,butwho tell pollsters that the pandemic will summon them off the couch into the
voting booth come November.�Riley GriffinCORONAVOTERSGRANT HALL ○ 25 →○ GEORGIA ○ acquisitions project manager“The 2016 presidentialelectionwasthefirstin
whichI wasoldenoughtovote.I remembercheckingonmy
registrationstatusinGeorgiaandrealizingit wastoolate.So
I resignedmyselfto the decision I had made by putting it off
and didn’tvote.
“Thepandemicreallyquicklyhitverycloseto
homeformyfamily.Myparents,whowereemptynesters,
hadmeandmytwosistersallinthehouseforthefirsttime
insevenyears.Weallstartedshowingsymptoms in late
March.Butmydadjustnevergotbetter.
“[Doctors]puthimontwodifferentdrugs,oneof
thembeinghydroxychloroquine.Hecouldn’tsleep,and
hisheartwasracing.It was1 a.m.ona Tuesdaymorning,
andhewasvisiblynotOK.Meandmymomrushedhimto
thehospital.It turnedoutoncewegottherethatatsome
pointthatnight,he’dbeenhavinga heartattack.Hismain
arterytohisheart was completely blocked and they had to
operateASAP.
“Wespentthenextthreeweekslivingphonecall
tophonecall.Andwatchingthedeathtollriseeveryday
whilehewasinthehospitalwashardbecauseweknew
howhighlytheoddswerestackedagainsthim.Thatwas
thesameperiodinwhichTrumpsaidhe’dbeentaking
hydroxychloroquineforweeks,thatit wasa ‘wonder
drug.’Thedoctorshadtoldusthatcouldhavebeenthe
thingthatkilledmydad.Weknewhowmanyotherpeople
couldpotentiallybeinourshoes,andtohaveourleader
promotingbadsciencewasreallymaddening.
“Theytriedtoexitmydadfromtheventilator
onceortwice,buthehadtobeputbackonbecausehis
oxygenlevelsjustgottoolow.Atonepoint,sixdoctorswere
standingoverhim,askingthemselves,‘Whatarewegoingto
do?’becausehewasdying.Butheturneda corner,and we
were victoriousafterthathellishmonthofApril.
“I’mjustincrediblyfrustratedthatwe’vemanaged
topoliticizewhatshouldbea simple,scientific,andhumane
topic.Myfamily’sexperiencehasonlysolidifiedmyresolve
toengagemorepolitically,voteinNovember,andstart
havingtheseuncomfortable conversations with fellow
community members.”STACY DENMAN ○ 56 �○ CALIFORNIA ○ mental health philanthropist“Trumpcouldbesaying,‘Let’sfigurethis
out,’andunitingthecountryagainstthecoronavirus,
andhe’dprobablywintheelection.Instead,he
continuestopromotefearanddivisivenessaround
thepandemic.In2020,I willnotbevotingfor
Trump,andI hopethat’s a wake-up call for the
Republican Party.”HALL'S FATHER, STUARTVISSA:
PHOTOGRAPH
BY
EVE
EDELHEIT
FOR
BLOOMBERG
BUSINESSWEEK.
HILLS:
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHNATHON KELSO FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK