March 2020 was a landmark month for nearly everyone worldwide. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic made an immediate impact on both business owners and the working class. Some people strongly criticized the decisions made by politicians and leaders across the country, including those Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb made.

Governor Holcomb announced a stay-at-home order in late March. Later, again using an executive order, Holcomb mandated masks in public spaces. There was almost immediate backlash as many people spoke out against the mandate.

Churches and churchgoers were some of the first groups to respond negatively to the shutdown, and then to mask mandates. Holcomb placed houses of worship under an “exempt” category however, meaning they did not have an obligation to follow the mask mandate. Churches also saw a significant early increase in online viewership, even though many, such as Hope Missionary Church in Bluffton, Indiana, were not fully prepared to make the full transition to a completely online service.

Indiana Senator Travis Holdman said some of his constituents said things like, “Enough is enough,” and, “There’s not enough science to back it up.” Many Hoosiers believed the mask mandate should be treated on a much more hyper-local scale, where individual localities decide what is best. Holdman said many of those people favored a broad-brush approach, such as the one Holcomb took at the very beginning of the pandemic. But as things wore on and the Indiana Department of Health made local data more specific and more accessible, they believed those decisions should be left up to health departments and city councils across the state.

Holdman also said he thought it wasn’t that the legislative body would’ve disagreed with Holcomb at the beginning of the pandemic, it’s just that they wanted a seat at the table. He added that he hasn’t spoken with the governor for several months, and that’s not uncommon among some of his colleagues, something he finds unacceptable especially in a time of crisis like this.

Over time, too, Holdman says studies consistently showed that states with mask mandates didn’t necessarily correlate with lower COVID-19 case numbers. Senator Matt Lehman introduced a bill regarding the governor’s emergency powers and it passed, but many politicians, including those from both sides of the aisle, believe Holcomb will veto it. The Indiana senate needs just a majority vote though to overturn that, and Holdman expects there to be enough Republican support alone for that to happen. It would force local health departments that want more stringent requirements than what the state is currently requiring to seek approval from the state. Senate Democrats have pushed back against overriding the veto.

Some conservatives turned to vote for the Libertarian candidate in the 2020 Gubernatorial race, Donald Rainwater. He campaigned on a platform that mask mandates are in direct conflict with the Indiana constitution, and drew historic numbers for a Libertarian.