Pew: Election Results Draw Big Interest

Most Followed Returns on Election Night

The results of the midterm elections dominated both the public’s interest and media attention last week as Republicans easily won control of the House while making big gains in the Senate and in many statehouses.

Fully 43% say they followed news about the election outcome more closely than any other news, according to the latest News Interest Index survey conducted among 996 adults from Nov. 4-7.  News about the elections accounted for 57% of the newshole, the highest level of coverage for any story since the 2008 elections, according to the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ).

While Republicans followed campaign news more closely than Democrats throughout much of 2010, partisans tracked the outcome at similar levels. Fully 57% of Republicans and 50% of Democrats say they followed the election results very closely. Roughly four-in-ten independents (41%) say the same. However, Republicans (61%) are more likely than Democrats (42%) and independents (39%) to say the election is the story they followed most closely.

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