From that same article
“It was astounding to see how much Governors learned from each other. States that were infected later locked down much quicker than states infected at the beginning of the pandemic” said Nitish Sood. “In addition, some states acted as catalysts, sparking lockdown decisions across many more states.”
If the outbreak could have been contained by locking down a Nursing home a meat packing plant, a prison, it would have been different.
California, for example, processed the cruise ship folks that were airlifted 'home'. Untraceable Community outbreak was the result, as those 'processors' were not provided with PPE.
Location of the state and Population, (population density) also has something to do with decision making. I didn't see any of those factors taken into consideration in the study.
blue = D Gov red = R Gov
If there had been adequate test kits available, it also would have been a different story. That's on the Feds.
And last but not least, Republican Governors have very little choice when it comes to believing Trump. If they don't follow Trump's assertions that the virus will disappear, they offend their constituents.
So, in conclusion....Politics does have something to do with it. But it's way more complex when we look at cause and effect.