County politics predict homicide change

Using CDC county mortality data, the article shows the 2020 increase in homicides varied strongly across places and demographic groups and that growth tended to be smaller in GOP‑leaning counties even after controlling for Covid deaths and gun sales. The piece suggests local political culture or place‑level governance correlates with lethal‑violence trends, not just national shocks or gun availability. — If local political culture or governance helps explain homicide variation, policy debates should shift from single‑factor explanations (guns, covid, policing alone) toward place‑based policy mixes and political incentives.