COVID mandates reach political tipping point: The Note

The TAKE with Rick Klein

The issue didn't shut down the government, and the Senate vote -- while bipartisan -- won't change any policy.

But debates over COVID mandates that Democrats once hoped would unite their party and divide Republicans have done pretty much the opposite. Two Senate Democrats are now on record wanting to reverse President Joe Biden's requirement that most private-sector workers get vaccinated.

"We should incentivize, not penalize, private employers to encourage vaccination," Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said after joining Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., in supporting the effort to undo the mandate for large employers.

It's not just senators creating distance between themselves and the White House. Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week told business leaders that she hasn't imposed a vaccine mandate for state workers in part because it would cost the state workers and create, in her words, "a problem for all of us."

So far, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, also a Democrat, is alone in requiring public school students to get vaccinated, even though that mandate is conditioned on full FDA approval of vaccines for younger children.

Other leading Democrats are saying they want to wait on court challenges to play out -- courts are blocking vaccine-mandate enforcement when it comes to large companies, federal contractors and health care workers -- before staking further ground.

Biden himself has said there won't be new mandates at least until courts settle lingering issues, and his administration has delayed any firings related to mandates until at least January. But with an energized GOP and a restless public, a growing number of Democrats aren't waiting that long to voice their concerns.

The RUNDOWN with Averi Harper

Former Sen. David Perdue, who launched a primary bid Monday to challenge Republican incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, now says he wouldn't have certified the 2020 election results if he had been at the helm of the Peach State.

"Not with the information that was available at the time and not with the information that has come out now. They had plenty of time to investigate this. And I wouldn't have signed it until those things had been investigated and that's all we were asking for," Perdue told Axios.

The Trump-backed candidate, unsurprisingly, has made relitigating the 2020 election a marquee issue of his campaign. In his campaign launch video, Perdue accused Kemp of not "protecting" the state’s elections.

Trump has openly criticized Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for their refusal to overturn the state's presidential election results. There continues to be no evidence of fraud in Georgia's 2020 elections in which Republicans lost two Senate seats -- including Perdue's -- in addition to the presidency.

On the fast-approaching first anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the country will be forced to confront the consequences of persistent election lies. Midterm voters, in Georgia and beyond, will be forced to decide if they'll support those who continue to peddle them.

The TIP with Alisa Wiersema

The battle over redistricting reached new heights in North Carolina Wednesday as the state's Supreme Court ruled in favor of delaying all 2022 primary elections from March 8 to May 17. The court also halted candidates' ability to file to run in the state's political races.

The pause will be in effect until lawsuits claiming unconstitutional gerrymandering in the new, Republican-drawn maps are resolved.

The move is sure to sharpen the national spotlight onto one of the most critical battleground states of next year's midterm election cycle. Wednesday's legal development coincides with reports of freshman GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn possibly violating several ethics rules.

As reported by ABC's Raleigh-Durham affiliate, WTVD, Cawthorn created a document titled "Congressman Cawthorn's Plan for North Carolina,'' using congressional resources in the process. The document, which maps out Cawthorn's vision for Republican midterm success, divides the state among incumbents and potential challengers -- including some who have yet to announce their candidacies. Cawthorn shared the map with former President Donald Trump during a meeting in Florida, according to WTVD.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" podcast. On Thursday morning's episode, we report on the latest studies and theories about omicron. ABC's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton sat down with Dr. Rochelle Walensky to find out how the CDC is tackling the new variant. Then, Buffalo News Reporter Matt Glynn tells us how a local Starbucks' attempt at unionization could have big consequences nationwide. And, with renewed scrutiny on Instagram's potential effect on young people, we speak to David Monahan from nonprofit Fairplay For Kids about what big tech's next moves could be. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

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