Candidates' vaccine hesitancy 'demonstrates the limits' of Trump's grip on GOP, say experts

Several Republicans running for office are advertising that they haven't been vaccinated against COVID-19, even as Donald Trump calls on his followers to get the vaccine.

As the midterm primary season approaches, several Republicans running for state or national office are either refusing to disclose their COVID-19 vaccination status or advertising that they haven't received a shot, even as former President Donald Trump calls on his followers to get the vaccine.

Some experts say that disconnect could expose cracks in a party that continues to grapple with its loyalty to Trump as well as a growing distrust of government, scientists, and the media -- and may signal a loosening of Trump's grip on the Republican voting base, according to Sarah Isgur, a former spokesperson for the Justice Department during the Trump administration.

"There's been an assumption within the political class that these are 'Trump voters,' implying that the former president himself can dictate their political support for or against a given candidate," said Isgur, who is also an ABC News contributor. "But the vaccine issue demonstrates the limits of that idea."

After denigrating many of the measures promoted by scientists to help curb the spread of COVID-19 during his time in office, Trump has emerged as an unlikely champion of vaccines. His promotion of the shot as "something that works" belies polling that shows unvaccinated adults are more than three times as likely to be Republicans than Democrats.