CORONAVIRUS death rates have been higher in Democratic states than they are in Republican ones, a new analysis revealed.
A breakdown of demographic and public health data found US counties that voted blue in the 2016 presidential election reported 39 virus deaths per 100,000 residents.
But in counties that voted red, just 13 of every 100,000 people had died from the virus by Wednesday, according to the Reuters analysis published on Thursday.
The skewed impact of the pandemic reflects the disproportionate effect the infectious disease has wrought in densely populated Democratic-voting cities like New York and Los Angeles.
Democratic counties in 36 of the 50 US states collectively reported higher death rates than Republican ones.
The trend extends beyond packed places like New York City, the epicenter of the outbreak.
The death rate in Maryland‘s Democratic suburbs of Washington is four times higher than that of conservative counties in the Appalachian panhandle.
In Kansas, the death rate is seven times higher in the two counties that supported Hillary Clinton than the rest of the state.
Rural areas and suburbs that typically back Republicans haven’t seen as direct an impact.
However, there are exceptions – Republican counties report a higher death rate in Delaware, Nebraska, and South Dakota, where the coronavirus has infiltrated several meatpacking plants.
GOP-voting counties in Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Texas have been harder hit despite their rates being significantly lower than the national average.
Partisan attitudes also show the geographic divide.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Monday and Tuesday found nearly half of Democrats were “very concerned” about the virus compared to just a third of Republicans.
Other polls have found GOPers are more eager to lift lockdown restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus that has killed more than 93,800 Americans.
The contrast is especially glaring in Michigan, where counties that backed Clinton in 2016 have reported 79 deaths for every 100,000 people.
Meanwhile, counties that voted for President Donald Trump have reported just 25 deaths per 100,000.
Trump, who won Michigan in 2016, is scheduled to visit the battleground state on Thursday.
He has pressed Gov Gretchen Whitmer about lifting lockdown restrictions in hopes of restarting the economy before the election in November.
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The president made it clear on Wednesday that he disapproves of the state’s decision to send mail-in ballots to more than 7 million registered voters amid coronavirus fears.
He accused Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of making the “illegal” decision “without authorization” and threatened to withhold funding to the state.
“I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!” he tweeted Wednesday.
