Senate Elections Are Being Searched Four Times More Than House Elections — and New Jersey's Ballot Is Led by a Senate Race
Google Trends data reported this cycle puts Senate searches at four times House searches over the past month, in one of the three most-searched midterms ever. In New Jersey, the Senate race is Booker against Murphy.
What Americans are searching this Election Day is Senate-first. According to Google Trends data reported by MEAWW and read in full by this desk, searches for Senate elections over the past month have run four times higher than searches for House elections, and the 2026 midterms are already among the three most-searched midterm elections in Google Trends history. Senate races, voter registration and voting boundaries are the topics emerging in the data, with 'How do I register to vote?' a breakout search.
New Jersey's ballot fits the pattern exactly. Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker is seeking a third full term against Republican Justin Murphy, and all 12 of the state's House seats are also on the ballot, with the marquee House race in the 7th Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. is seeking a third term against Democrat Rebecca Bennett, according to FOX 5 New York's Election Day guide, read in full this run.
The search data comes with its own caution, and this desk repeats it: searches show what people want to know, not how they will vote. A Senate search may mean a voter is following a race, trying to understand the chamber, or looking for basic voting information. What the four-to-one gap does establish is where attention is pointed on the morning the polls open — and in New Jersey, the race at the top of that attention is the Senate's.
