Even as pollsters and election forecasters see growing signs of a red wave, Americans' interest in topics that tend to favor Republicans are still below their peak, according to the latest data in Axios' midterms dashboard.
Why it matters: With early voting well underway and Election Day quickly approaching, the issues Americans are paying closest attention to seem to be stabilizing — with a few key issues like firearms and student loan forgiveness grabbing new attention.
By the numbers: While maintaining relatively high interest, topics like inflation, gas prices and immigration have not spiked notably over the past week or so. Interest in crime — a key campaign topic — has also held steady, but dropped from No. 10 to No. 11 in the ranking of most searched topics.
- Student loan forgiveness has surged to the No. 10 most-searched topic, with millions of Americans signing up for relief through the Biden administration's official online portal in the days after it went live.
- Searches about firearms have also seen an uptick, likely linked to the deadly shooting in North Carolina.
