Lake and other Democratic strategists say that in a litany of focus groups since the late summer, vaccinated Republican voters have expressed rising levels of anger about unvaccinated Americans, faulting them in part for the country’s then-rising number of infections and deaths from COVID-19.

That has led Democrats to examine whether they have a chance to make inroads with voters frustrated with continued vaccine skepticism — particularly the affluent, suburban voters already drifting away from the GOP — as Republicans largely view the vaccine as a matter of personal freedom.

It’s a sentiment that has only become more politically important, Democrats say, amid the ongoing fight over vaccine mandates embraced by President Joe Biden and opposed by many Republican governors, which has led to high-profile clashes this week alone in Texas and Florida.

“In the end, the vaccinated Republicans may end up being a major target in a lot of these races in 2022,” Lake said.