The coronavirus outbreak has reminded Americans that we live in a federal system. Despite the press fixation on Washington, state governments set many of the policies that most affect daily life. Governors in hard-hit regions have seen their political profiles surge, and many are issuing shelter-in-place orders.

Democrats are now targeting Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican Governor, for charting a slightly different course. “While other large states continue to take strong, urgent, and sweeping action to stop the spread...