Biden calls for nationwide mask requirement, but would Florida issue a mandate?

Push for states to issue mask mandates

Kellie Cowan reports

TAMPA, Fla. - President-elect Joe Biden says one of his first priorities once in office will be working with the governors of all 50 states to enact mask mandates.

The majority of states, 34 and the District of Columbia, already have some form of mask mandate in place, but Biden hopes to extend the measures nationwide.

In a speech on Monday, Biden said masks had become too politicized, but are essential to keeping the virus from spreading and Americans from dying.

"It doesn’t matter who you voted for, where you stood before Election Day," he said. "It doesn’t matter your party, your point of view. We could save tens of thousands of lives if everyone would just wear a mask for the next few months. We’d save lives. Not Democrat or Republican lives -- American lives."

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Though states with mask mandates have governors from both sides of the aisle, the small list of those who don’t are all states led by Republican governors.

In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has repeatedly said he does not support a statewide mask mandate. In September, DeSantis went as far as to weaken mask mandates passed by Florida cities and counties by stripping them of key enforcement mechanisms.

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Other Republican lawmakers in Florida are equally resistant to mandating masks, saying masks should be a personal choice.

"I think it’s a prudent thing to do to wear and it’s your personal choice. I don’t think somebody should be telling you you should or somebody should be telling you that you shouldn’t," Brevard County Commissioner Curt Smith (R) told FOX 35.

Without a statewide mask mandate, several Florida cities and counties have enacted their own mandates, creating a patchwork of mask rules throughout the state. Some local governments like Lakeland and Manatee County, where leaders faced heavy criticism from constituents and heated public comment sessions during weekly meetings, have already repealed their mask mandates.

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Some have serious doubts a call from Biden would change minds.

"The fact that Joe Biden calls [DeSantis] is not going to make the governor go, ‘Oh wow, now let’s do a mandate,’" said Florida State Representative Randy Fine (R).

Below is a list of states that require masks, and their governor's party affiliation:

Arkansas (R)
California (D)
Colorado (D)
Connecticut (D)
Delaware (D)
DC (D-mayor)
Hawaii (D)
Illinois (D)
Indiana (R)
Kansas (D)
Kentucky (D)
Louisianna (D)
Maine (D)
Maryland (R)
Massachusetts (R)
Michigan (D)
Minnesota (D)
Montana (D)
Nevada (D)
New Jersey (D)
New Mexico (D)
New York (D)
North Carolina (D)
Ohio (R)
Oregon (D)
Pennsylvania (D)
Rhode Island (D)
Texas (R)
Utah (R)
Vermont (R)
Virginia (D)
Washington (D)
West Virginia (R)
Wisconsin (D)

Below is a list of states that do not require masks, and their governor's party affiliation:

Alaska: (R)
Arizona: (R)
Florida (R)
Georgia (R)
Idaho (R)
Iowa (R)
Mississippi (R)
Missouri (R)
Nebraska (R)
New Hampshire (R)
North Dakota (R)
Oklahoma (R)
South Carolina (R)
South Dakota (R)
Tennesee (R)
Wyoming (R)