In Michigan, 39 out of 83 counties have Googled Joe Biden the most since January.
That’s according to a map developed by Google’s Data editor at the News Lab, Simon Rogers. The map breaks down the top searched Democratic debate candidates by aggregating data from January through June.
While Biden is leading the searches—much like he’s currently leading the polls—U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders isn’t far behind, being the most searched in 26 counties across the state.
Here is how all the Michigan counties add up:
- Biden - 39 counties
- Sanders - 26 counties
- Buttigieg - 6 counties
- Harris - 5 counties
- Gillbrand - 2 counties
- Yang - 2 counties
- Warren - 1 county
- Klobuchar - 1 county
- O'Rourke - 1 county
The Democratic presidential primary debate is being held in Detroit this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. Biden and Sanders are on different nights, so Michigan won’t see their top two Googled candidates share the stage.
However, on Tuesday, Sanders, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke and U.S. Sen Amy Klobuchar will all be in the line-up. And on Wednesday, there will be the anticipated match-up between Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris.
While the Google search trends are not indicative of who counties will vote for in the Democratic primary, it does provide some insight into who Michiganders are curious about.
Buttigieg was the most searched in six counties—some of those being near the Michigan-Indiana border, close to South Bend. There were also a few in Northern Michigan.
Searches for Harris are scattered across Northern Michigan, including one in the Upper Peninsula.
Andrew Yang is represented in several counties across the United States, including two in Michigan: Arenac and Baraga. Iron County is Googling Klobuchar and Missaukee County is Googling O’Rourke.
In June’s iteration of the map, one outlier was Luce County. With little representation on the map, Bill de Blasio was the most searched candidate there. However, in the updated aggregation, that county has switched to Kirsten Gillibrand.
According to RealClearPolitics Monday, Joe Biden is leading the polls with 31.3 percent, and Elizabeth Warren is trailing with 14.8 percent. Despite Warren's positioning in national polls, she is only the top searched candidate in one Michigan county: the Thumb's Huron County.
Sanders is just behind Warren with 14.3 percent. The Vermont Senator—now famously—beat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential primary in Michigan. In that election, only 10 counties went to Clinton, but of those 10, Sanders is only the top-searched candidate in one.
The map is constantly evolving as the 2020 election progresses. With the upcoming Democratic debates in Detroit, Michiganders may switch up their Google searches.
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