What Michigan voters are Googling before August primary – Axios

Detroit’s two new congressional districts are both Democratic strongholds, but new search data shows they have some very different interests.

Driving the news: Axios recently launched an interactive dashboard using Google Trends data from May 23-30 to show voter interest by congressional district. Users can toggle through numerous topics within each district.

Why it matters: The tool gives insight into voters’ mindset ahead of the August primary and also how new congressional maps have grouped voters together.

Zoom out: Michigan lost a congressional district due to population loss announced last year.

• The redrawn 12th includes part of Detroit, Southfield and western Wayne County communities like Dearborn.
• The 13th includes downtown, the Grosse Pointes and Downriver.

Between the lines: The 12th District is more interested than the 13th on topics tied to culture wars and politics, such as police reform, race and former President Trump.

• Both show a high interest in topics like abortion, affordable housing and unemployment.
• Jobs, taxes and firearms top the list for both districts in terms of overall Google searches.

Yes, but: Compared to all 435 U.S. congressional districts, interests in the 12th and 13th Districts occasionally diverged.

• The 12th is highly interested in the Jan. 6 insurrection and evictions.
• Gay adoption and Trump are of high interest in the 13th.

What we’re watching: The dashboard will be updated weekly with new data.