America’s governors are playing an outsized role in day-to-day life across the country, and have emerged on the frontlines of efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

At times they are the voices offering the starkest contrast to Donald Trump’s wildly inconsistent statements, at other times they have been the most popular targets of criticism for how they are responding to the virus.

Who is state governor has been one of the most important factors in how each state has responded to the pandemic: moving quickly to shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, or not moving at all: with high-stakes consequences.

“This is a defining moment for every governor in America because this isn’t a moment where you just cast a vote and go home,” the veteran Democratic strategist Lis Smith, who has advised governors and gubernatorial candidates, said. “Governors are in charge of making these life and death decisions right now.”

Strategist Mike DuHaime, a veteran consultant to Republican governors and gubernatorial candidates, said the coronavirus pandemic was a rare crisis in which every governor has to respond.

“You’re not looking at two or three governors dealing with a crisis, you’re looking at all 50,” DuHaime said.

Below is a list of 10 of the most visible governors during the pandemic:

Photograph: Hilary Scheinuk/AP

John Bel Edwards, Louisiana

Critics blame Edwards, a Democrat, for allowing Mardi Gras festivities to go ahead, which epidemiologists say may have accelerated the spread of disease. But Edwards has earned praise for his bipartisan efforts – uniting bitter political rivals in the state legislature – to enforce social distancing and secure medical supplies. Still, Louisiana is one of the worst-hit states, and the coronavirus crisis has highlighted the stark health disparities there. At the other end of this crisis, Edwards will have to brace for blame and well as credit from voters.

Photograph: Steven Senne/AP

Charlie Baker, Massachusetts

The signature aspect of Baker’s time as governor has been how he has distanced himself from the president without sparking the ire of his party. Baker, a moderate Republican, has at times loudly disagreed with Trump – bluntly shooting down the president’s suggestion to reopen the country for business by Easter. He has also communicated effectively with his constituents, providing even-keeled updates, while also showing emotion and empathy. Baker has also launched a statewide relief fund for households and workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic. His pragmatism and persistence in response to the crisis have won him bipartisan praise, and reinforced his image as a moderate foil to Trump.

Photograph: Julie Smith/AP

Mike Parson, Missouri

Parson finally issued a shelter-in-place order for Missouri on 6 April, after resisting the move for weeks. Even then, the Republican left loopholes that allow even non-essential businesses to remain open, and undermined his own policy, calling it a “piece of paper”. His obstinacy, even as medical experts and local leaders within his state pleaded with him to take action as the number of cases rose, triggered the non-partisan Cook Political Report to downgrade his chances of winning re-election in the gubernatorial election in November.

Photograph: Wilfredo Lee/AP

Ron DeSantis, Florida

Republican DeSantis has received a wave of criticism for his response to the coronavirus in Florida. His shelter-in-place order contains notable exceptions – it doesn’t bar churches from holding services, in a state where megachurches have held packed, risky services for hundreds of parishioners. DeSantis has defended himself by insisting that public health decisions should be left to local officials. Still, he has stayed in Trump’s good graces. The president called him “a great governor who knows exactly what he’s doing”.

Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Gavin Newsom, California

#PresidentNewsom was trending on Twitter after Newsom appeared on Rachel Maddow’s TV show, and announced a deal to secure 200m medical-grade masks per month for California. Newsom enacted one of the earliest and strictest orders to stay at home on 19 March, and the tactic seems to have paid off: California appears to be “flattening the curve”. Democrat Newsom and Trump have publicly feuded throughout the first-term governor’s time in office but during the pandemic he has repeatedly won praise from the president.

Photograph: AP

Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan

Even before the pandemic the first-term governor of Michigan was emerging as a rising Democratic star mentioned as a possible running mate for Joe Biden. Since the pandemic Whitmer has issued a wave of executive orders and declared an early state of emergency on 10 March. She’s become a regular presence on news networks (though that has sparked local criticism). She has called out the Trump administration’s coordination with governors during the pandemic, which has led to public tussles with the president.

Photograph: Tony Dejak/AP

Mike DeWine, Ohio

Arguably the Republican who has earned the most praise for his swift response to the pandemic, DeWine decided to close Ohio’s bars, schools and restaurants early and also moved to postpone the state’s primary election. In March DeWine ordered schools and non-essential businesses to close. DeWine, a mild-mannered career bureaucrat, is not known as a bomb thrower or household name even in political circles. Republicans and Democratic officials have expressed support for DeWine’s early moves to slow the pandemic. He may be the only governor who has become a popular meme during the pandemic.

Photograph: Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Andrew Cuomo, New York

No other governor has received as much attention as Cuomo during the pandemic. That’s partially because New York has been one of the states hardest hit by the pandemic. But Cuomo, a Democrat known less for his charisma and more for his combative technocratic governing style, has used his daily briefings to strike an above-politics imageduring the pandemic. But his handling of the crisis has fallen under intense scrutiny and Cuomo has found himself on the receiving end of both rare praise from Trump and lashing criticism.

Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP

Larry Hogan, Maryland

Hogan, one of the most popular governors in the country, has at times taken a low profile, and at other times embraced the spotlight. He weighed challenging Trump in the 2020 Republican primary before opting against it. A second-term Republican governor who serves as the chairman of the National Governors Association, Hogan has had to act as something of the voice for all 50 governors throughout the pandemic. Hogan has also been that rare breed of Republican who has contested some of Trump’s statements publicly. Governors elsewhere have been trading notes with Hogan. He has also leaned on health experts in his state to navigate the crisis.

Photograph: José Luis Magaña/AP

Tony Evers, Wisconsin

In the lead-up to the Wisconsin primary, Evers, a first-term Democrat who ousted Scott Walker, found himself wrestling with the Republican-controlled state legislature over whether to allow in-person voting despite a stay-at-home order. Other states, meanwhile, postponed their primaries. At times, Evers was criticized by other Democrats for his approach to delaying the election. Just before the primary, he issued an executive order postponing in-person voting. But that was overturned by the state’s supreme court, meaning voters would gather in large groups to vote against the warnings of health experts. However, Democrats came out of the election with a victory in the state’s supreme court election where the liberal candidate beat a conservative incumbent endorsed by Trump.