Commentary
Why did the lockdowns and vaccine mandates not have a greater impact on the election? Proposition: when the candidate explained them bluntly, denounced them aggressively, and had a good record on the topics, the issues did make a massive difference.
However, the Republicans who downplayed the issues out of fear or confusion, or otherwise pretended they could just change the subject, weakened themselves and played into the hands of their Democrat opponents.
Many Republican candidates were fearful of the topic, avoiding it like the plague. They were frightened of media denunciation and the baloney that as politicians, they should leave all commentary on matters of such weighty topics to scientists alone. In addition, there was a real elephant in the room, namely that the lockdowns began under Republican control of the White House and too many Republicans went along….