Gov. Eric Holcomb said his substantial reelection victory will have no impact on his decision-making around COVID-19.

Holcomb faced sharp criticism from both his political left and right over his handling of the pandemic. But he was also re-elected by a huge margin.

Holcomb said politics didn’t drive his decisions before the election and won’t now.

“The only campaign that we’re running here is a campaign to try to save lives and get through this,” Holcomb said.

And Holcomb – as he has done for months – stressed the role of individual responsibility in addressing the pandemic.

“If we put this little, inexpensive piece of cloth and prevent the airborne transmission of this virus, we will be able to effectively, for the common good, individual by individual, slow the spread,” Holcomb said.

Holcomb repeated that he doesn’t believe reimposing statewide COVID-19 restrictions will effectively curb the virus’s spread.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.