WASHINGTON, 13 February 2022, (TON): “People are tired,” Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock says in the opening ad for his reelection campaign.

There’s not a face mask to be seen in the Democrat’s video montage of scenes across Georgia, as he goes on to say people that are wondering when things will get back to normal, and at the same time not knowing what normal even means anymore.

The ad reflects a shifting narrative on COVID-19 restrictions across the country: Democrats are now increasingly supportive of easing mandates as they struggle to address voter frustration with the lingering pandemic.

They’re hoping a shift in policy could serve to blunt incoming political attacks with the midterm elections when control of Congress is at stake now less than nine months away. But their appeals for a return to normalcy, both in symbols and practice, are putting new pressure on President Joe Biden.

After months of sparring with Republican governors for standing in the way of public health measures like face-coverings and social distancing, the sudden shift on the part of Democrats in recent days has caught White House officials off guard and left them seemingly out of sync with their own party.