Mayors are pleading with their Republican governors to follow the science and shut down states over the coronavirus

Associated Press/Evan Vucci

• Mayors across the country are on the frontlines of fighting the spread of the coronavirus in vulnerable urban areas. 
• But the governors of several large red states, including Arizona, Texas, and Florida, are largely leaving local officials to fight their own battles or usurping local authority.
• Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told Insider that Gov. Doug Ducey has largely stripped her power to respond to the crisis. The governor finally issued a "stay at home" order after Gallego and eight other Arizona mayors signed a letter demanding he do so. 
• Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Texas has to work together to keep people home and slow the spread. He called Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's comments that older Americans would gladly sacrifice their lives to reopen the economy more quickly "a false choice."
• At the same time, several other red-state governors, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, have pushed back on the president's downplaying of the crisis and acted quickly to crackdown on the virus' spread.
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Mayors across the country are on the frontlines of fighting the coronavirus, but several Republican governors are being accused of slow-walking or even undermining local officials' efforts.

By Monday, at least 29 states had put statewide "stay at home" orders in place, meaning more than two-thirds of US residents are ordered to stay home except for essential activities, including medical appointments and grocery shopping. But major states like Texas and Florida have so far refused.

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