Seen, Read, Heard
Midterms. Mar-a-Lago. Malaise. Here’s the News That Broke Through in 2022.
2022 brought a surprising midterm election performance by the Democratic Party given economic malaise driven by rising costs and the historic trend against the party in power. But the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the nationwide right to an abortion, and former President Donald Trump’s incessant place on the national stage proved just as salient with voters, helping to boost President Joe Biden’s party. Morning Consult surveyed more than 200,000 registered voters throughout the year to determine the salience of more than 800 news events — in real time. Here’s a curated, chronological list of 142 news events that we found most noteworthy. Scroll down to see which events voters were most (and least) likely to report seeing, reading and hearing “a lot” about.
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38%
29%
24%
Biden delivers his first State of the Union address
03.01.22
SOTU 2022
32%
23%
19%
Florida lawmakers pass measure limiting the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity to young students
03.08.22
'Don't say gay' passes
51%
45%
43%
Russian forces bomb children's hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine
03.09.22
Hospital bombing
39%
44%
50%
Labor Department reports another 40-year high in price increases in February
03.10.22
February inflation report
16%
15%
15%
Congress passes a $1.5 trillion government spending bill, including $14 billion in aid for Ukraine
03.10.22
Ukraine aid
24%
20%
20%
MLB owners, players agree to a new collective bargaining agreement
03.10.22
MLB ends strike
32%
25%
20%
Senate passes bill that would make daylight saving time permanent in 2023
03.15.22
Senate’s DST move
8%
6%
5%
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) dies at 88
03.18.22
House dean dies
21%
17%
14%
WHO issues warning on omicron BA.2 subvariant of COVID-19
03.22.22
New COVID-19 strain
31%
25%
21%
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright dies at 84
03.23.22
Albright dies
36%
22%
12%
News emerges of Ginni Thomas' role in campaign to overturn Biden's victory
03.24.22
Ginni Thomas and Jan. 6
18%
12%
6%
Rep. Madison Cawthorn says he was invited to Washington orgies by political figures, some of whom used cocaine
03.24.22
Cawthorn’s cocaine talk
11%
16%
22%
News emerges that federal investigators are escalating probe of Hunter Biden's business dealings
03.30.22
Hunter Biden probe
31%
25%
21%
Biden announces plans to release 180 million barrels of oil from the strategic oil reserves
03.31.22
Tapping gas
47%
45%
43%
Virginia jury finds Amber Heard guilty of defamation against actor Johnny Depp
06.01.22
Depp-Heard verdict
24%
22%
24%
Police arrest armed man near Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's Maryland home following death threat
06.08.22
Kavanaugh death threat
39%
30%
23%
The House's select Jan. 6 committee holds its first hearing in prime time
06.09.22
Jan. 6 panel in prime time
23%
17%
14%
CDC ends requirement that travelers entering the U.S. must provide a negative COVID-19 test
06.10.22
COVID travel restrictions lifted
40%
46%
51%
Labor Department reports another 41-year high in price increases in May
06.10.22
May inflation report
8%
11%
16%
CBP reports 239,416 migrant apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border in May, a monthly record high
06.15.22
May border record
21%
18%
16%
FDA orders Juul to pull all of its vaping products off the market
06.23.22
Juul (briefly) banned
28%
20%
18%
Congress passes a bipartisan bill on school and gun safety in response to Uvalde shooting
06.23.22
Gun bill passes
27%
22%
21%
Supreme Court strikes New York law limiting concealed weapon permits
06.23.22
SCOTUS strikes gun law
75%
71%
70%
Supreme Court overturns 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed federal abortion rights
06.24.22
Roe falls
45%
38%
34%
Intense heat kills 53 migrants left by smugglers in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas
06.27.22
Migrant tragedy
45%
32%
23%
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson shares details on Trump during Jan. 6 hearing
06.28.22
Cassidy Hutchinson testimony
28%
22%
17%
NATO invites Finland and Sweden to join the alliance
06.29.22
NATO invites
40%
30%
22%
The Indianapolis Star reports 10-year-old rape victim traveled to Indiana for abortion due to Ohio law
07.01.22
Ohio abortion story
57%
52%
49%
Gunman kills seven, injures dozens at July 4 parade in Chicago suburb
07.04.22
Highland Park shooting
34%
30%
27%
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he'll resign
07.07.22
BoJo bows out
33%
29%
27%
WNBA star Brittney Griner pleads guilty to carrying cannabis oil in Russian court
07.07.22
Griner’s guilty plea
35%
33%
33%
Assassin kills former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
07.08.22
Abe assassination
40%
43%
50%
Labor Department reports another 40-year inflation high during June
07.13.22
June inflation report
20%
16%
15%
Dr. Anthony Fauci says he will leave the government in the near future
07.18.22
Short-timer
45%
41%
42%
Biden tests positive for COVID-19
07.21.22
Biden gets COVID
15%
16%
19%
Man with a knife attacks GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin at gubernatorial campaign event in New York
07.21.22
Zeldin attacked
56%
52%
46%
Americans across the country face extremely hot temperatures
07.21.22
Heat wave
31%
25%
20%
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon found guilty of contempt of Congress
07.22.22
Bannon convicted
26%
21%
18%
Wildfire spreads in California near Yosemite National Park
07.22.22
Oak Fire
17%
14%
12%
House sends Biden a $280 billion bill to boost the U.S. semiconductor industry and research
07.29.22
CHIPS Act
34%
29%
25%
U.S. drone strike in Kabul kills al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri
07.30.22
Al-Zawahri killed
23%
22%
24%
Pyongyang launches nuclear-capable missile over Japan for the first time since 2017
10.04.22
N.K. missile launch
23%
23%
26%
Oil cartel says it will cut oil production in November
10.05.22
OPEC+ cuts production
35%
29%
23%
Biden pardons prior federal simple marijuana possession offenses
10.06.22
Pot pardons
28%
23%
21%
Biden says the risk of Armageddon is at its highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
10.06.22
'Armageddon'
49%
38%
25%
Kanye West makes a series of antisemitic or racist statements or actions
10.09.22
Ye's bigotry
13%
10%
9%
Maryland prosecutors drop murder charges against Adnan Syed, subject of 2014 “Serial” podcast
10.11.22
Adnan Syed cleared
20%
19%
18%
CDC approves COVID-19 booster shots for children ages 5-11
10.12.22
Kids’ COVID boosters
34%
38%
43%
Labor Department reports another 40-year high in inflation for September
10.13.22
September inflation report
24%
25%
30%
Biden again taps Strategic Petroleum Reserve amid high gas prices
10.18.22
Tapping more gas
14%
10%
8%
N.Y. jury finds actor Kevin Spacey was not liable for damages in lawsuit over alleged sexual abuse in 1986
10.20.22
Spacey verdict
39%
34%
29%
British Prime Minister Liz Truss announces plans to resign
10.20.22
Truss bows out
46%
37%
30%
House's Jan. 6 panel subpoenas Trump
10.21.22
Trump subpoena
17%
13%
10%
AAA reports drop in average price of a gallon of gas
10.24.22
Gas prices drop
23%
18%
14%
NBA player Kyrie Irving promoting an antisemitic film on his Twitter account
10.27.22
Irving's antisemitism
41%
38%
33%
Man kidnaps and attacks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, during a home break-in
10.28.22
Pelosi attack
Morning Consult