Which of the following issues does the American electorate pay closest attention to

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The economy is consistently a top voting issue. In a survey asking a similar, though not identical, list of issues in June 2016, the economy also was the top voting issue.

In the current survey, 68% of voters say health care is very important to their vote, while 64% cite Supreme Court appointments.

As the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus outbreak, 62% of voters say the outbreak will be a very important factor in their decision about who to support in the fall.

About six-in-ten (59%) say violent crime will be very important to their 2020 decision, and 57% say this about foreign policy.

Immigration and racial and ethnic inequality rank toward the lower end of the list for voters (52% each call these issues very important to their vote).

Fewer than half say climate change (42%) or abortion (40%) will be very important factors in their decision (though majorities say these issues will be at least somewhat important to them).

Trump and Biden voters diverge over importance of COVID-19 to their vote this fall

For Trump supporters, the economy (88%) and violent crime (74%) are the most salient issues. Roughly six-in-ten Trump supporters cite immigration (61%), gun policy (60%) and foreign policy (57%) as very important to their vote.

By contrast, the largest shares of Biden supporters view health care (84%) and the coronavirus outbreak (82%) as very important. A sizable majority also rates racial and ethnic inequality as important to their vote (76%).

While there are substantial differences between Trump and Biden supporters on the importance of most issues, the widest gaps are on climate change (57 percentage points) and racial and ethnic inequality (52 points).

In addition, Biden supporters are more than twice as likely than Trump supporters to say the coronavirus outbreak (82% of Biden supporters, 39% of Trump supporters) and economic inequality (65% of Biden supporters, 28% of Trump supporters) as very important.

Larger shares of Trump than Biden supporters say violent crime (74% vs. 46%), immigration (61% vs. 46%) and gun policy (60% vs. 50%) are very important to their decision about who to vote for in 2020.

Republicans lead on the economy; Democrats have advantages on climate, health, racial issues

By contrast, the Democratic Party holds wide advantages among voters on climate change (58% to 27% over the GOP), abortion and contraception (51% to 36%) and health care (51% t0 37%). In addition, the Democratic Party has 12-point leads on handling the public health impact of the coronavirus and issues involving race and ethnicity.

On other issues, including immigration, gun policy, the federal budget deficit and law enforcement and criminal justice, neither party has a significant edge among voters.

U.S. presidential elections are big news worldwide every four years. But what happens in the midterm elections — so called because they come nearly two years into a president’s term — can have just as big an impact on the direction of the country.

Most of the attention of midterm elections is focused on the two chambers of Congress: the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. Members of the House are elected for two-year terms, so all 435 seats are decided during the midterm elections.

Senators are elected to staggered six-year terms. A third of the 100 seats are up for grabs in any midterm election.

Why is this so important? “Whoever controls the House or the Senate controls the agenda,” says Gary Nordlinger, a professor of politics at George Washington University.

The majority party determines who leads important congressional committees. A president’s ability to accomplish his agenda has everything to do with whether his party controls the two houses of Congress, says Nordlinger.

While many state and local elections take place on the same day as midterm elections, state and local elections can take place in any year, at various times throughout the year. These include statewide elections for governor or state legislature, citywide votes for mayors, local elections for judges and local officials, as well as ballot initiatives at the local or state level.

While state and local races don’t usually grab national headlines, “the overwhelming majority of legislation in the country is passed at the state level, not the federal level,” he says.

To learn more about how federalism works in the U.S., read our three-part series on federal, state and local government.