Attention to 2020 U.S. presidential election coverage versus COVID-19

Public interest in news stories concerning COVID-19 are significantly higher than coverage of the U.S. presidential campaign, with 46 percent of Americans following the outbreak very closely as of April 2020 compared to just 19 percent who are paying close attention to 2020 election news. Only six months before U.S. election day, public attention to the coronavirus was far greater than to the political proceedings. With just over half of respondents following news on the upcoming election either very closely or fairly closely, compared to 86 percent interested in coverage of COVID, it is clear that the pandemic is dominating the public interest.