Explaining Governors’ Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

Abstract

What has been the response of U.S. governors to the COVID-19 pandemic? In this research note, we explore the determinants of implementing stay-at-home orders, focusing on governors’ characteristics in the early stage of the pandemic. In our most conservative estimate, being a Democratic governor increased the probability of implementing a stay-at-home order by more than 50%. Moreover, we found that the probability of implementing a statewide stay-at-home order was about 40% more likely for governors without term limits than governors with term limits. We also found that Democratic governors and governors without term limits were significantly faster to adopt statewide orders than Republican governors and governors with term limits. There is evidence of politics as usual in these unusual times.