Topics in Top Five Priorities and Promises

Introduction

This page presents the distribution of policy topics within the top five stated priorities and promises of political candidates. The tables show the percentage of statements associated with each topic across selected elections.

Each priority and promise is reviewed and assigned to one standardized policy topic based on its primary subject matter. The original text from candidates is not edited or modified during this process.

Use the selection form below to choose the location, election type, election stage, and party affiliation to view the corresponding topic distribution.

This page analyzes the policy issues most frequently appearing in candidates' campaign priorities and promises. By organizing statements into standardized policy topics such as economy, healthcare, immigration, education, and public safety, PolicyContrast provides a structured view of issue emphasis across elections. The analysis helps voters compare how different campaigns prioritize policy issues.

Select Data for Analyses

Policy Topic Categories

Each statement is assigned to one topic representing its primary policy focus.

Economy & Jobs: Economic growth, job creation, wages, inflation, cost of living, workforce development, housing affordability, and policies supporting businesses and employment. Also includes: childcare affordability and access (when framed as a cost-of-living or workforce issue), infrastructure investment (roads, bridges, broadband, public transit), agriculture and farming policy, labor rights and union policy, minimum wage, apprenticeship and vocational training programs, and small business support.
Note: Childcare belongs here when the emphasis is on affordability or workforce participation. It belongs in Education only when the entry specifically frames it as an early learning or developmental program. Labor rights, union organizing, and workers' wages belong here, not in Social Issues & Civil Rights.
Taxes & Government Spending: Tax policy, government budgets, deficits, public spending, fiscal management, and proposals to raise, lower, or restructure taxes. Also includes: balanced budget commitments, national debt reduction, Social Security solvency and fiscal reform, government waste and fraud elimination (when framed as fiscal savings), and entitlement program funding levels.
Note: Protecting or reforming Social Security as a fiscal/entitlement program belongs here. Government efficiency and anti-corruption belong in Government & Institutional Reform unless the primary framing is fiscal savings.
Immigration & Border Security: Immigration policy, border control, asylum procedures, migrant services, and federal immigration enforcement. Also includes: sanctuary city and sanctuary state policies, ICE funding and operations, deportation policy, legal immigration reform, visa policy, and spending on migrant services.
Note: Statements about defunding or reforming ICE belong here, not in Party Alignment, when they reflect a specific immigration enforcement position.
Public Safety & Crime: Law enforcement, policing, crime prevention, criminal justice policy, sentencing, and community safety. Also includes: gun violence prevention (when framed as a public safety measure), organized crime and drug trafficking enforcement, corrections and prison reform, school safety, and domestic violence policy.
Note: Gun policy belongs here when the emphasis is on public safety outcomes. It belongs in Social Issues & Civil Rights when the emphasis is on constitutional rights. Homelessness belongs here only when framed primarily as an enforcement or community safety issue.
Healthcare: Healthcare access, insurance coverage, hospitals, public health programs, and healthcare system reform. Also includes: mental health services, addiction and substance abuse treatment, elder care and long-term care, veterans' healthcare access, prescription drug pricing, reproductive healthcare (when framed as medical access rather than constitutional rights), public health emergencies, and rural hospital access.
Note: Homelessness belongs here when the entry emphasizes mental health or addiction treatment as the primary solution. Reproductive policy belongs here when framed as healthcare access, and in Social Issues & Civil Rights when framed as a rights or constitutional issue.
Education: K-12 education, higher education, school funding, teachers, curriculum issues, and student programs. Also includes: vocational training and apprenticeships (when framed as educational pathways), early childhood education and universal pre-K (when framed as developmental or learning programs), school choice and parental rights in education, school safety, and student debt relief.
Note: Childcare belongs here only when the entry specifically frames it as an early learning or developmental program. When framed as affordability or workforce access, it belongs in Economy & Jobs. Vocational training belongs here when focused on educational credentials, and in Economy & Jobs when focused on workforce development and job creation.
Energy & Environment: Energy production, renewable energy, fossil fuels, climate policy, environmental protection, and natural resource management. Also includes: utility rates and energy affordability, water resources and drought management, wildfire prevention and forest management, disaster preparedness and recovery (when tied to environmental or climate factors), public land protection, and environmental justice.
Note: Wildfire and forest management belong here, not in Economy & Jobs, even when job creation is mentioned as a secondary benefit. Utility bill affordability belongs here when the entry focuses on energy policy reform.
National Security & Foreign Policy: Military policy, defense spending, international conflicts, alliances, and foreign relations. Also includes: trade policy and tariffs when framed primarily as national security concerns, foreign land ownership restrictions, China and CCP threat assessments, counterterrorism policy, military readiness and personnel standards, and US foreign aid decisions.
Note: Tariffs and trade protection belong here when explicitly framed as national security, and in Economy & Jobs when framed as economic protection or job creation. China-related entries belong here when the focus is on geopolitical or security threats, and in Economy & Jobs when the focus is on trade or economic competition.
Social Issues & Civil Rights: Policies related to civil rights, gender issues, reproductive policy, religious freedom, and broader social policy debates. Also includes: LGBTQ+ rights, Second Amendment rights (when framed as constitutional rights), pro-life and abortion policy (when framed as rights rather than healthcare access), veterans' welfare and benefits, tribal sovereignty and Indigenous rights, animal welfare, parental rights (outside of education), and freedom of speech and religion.
Note: Labor rights, union organizing, and minimum wage belong in Economy & Jobs, not here. Social Security belongs in Taxes & Government Spending. Homelessness belongs here only when framed as a dignity, rights, or social equity issue. Gun policy belongs here when the emphasis is on constitutional rights, and in Public Safety & Crime when the emphasis is on safety outcomes.
Government & Institutional Reform: Government efficiency, administrative reform, anti-corruption efforts, transparency, and changes to government institutions. Also includes: term limits, Congressional stock trading bans, anti-lobbying measures, state-local government relations and local control, auditing of government programs, regulatory reform (when focused on institutional processes rather than economic outcomes), and restructuring of government agencies.
Note: Balanced budget commitments and fiscal responsibility belong in Taxes & Government Spending unless the primary focus is on reforming how government operates. Cutting regulations belongs here when focused on institutional processes, and in Economy & Jobs when focused on business growth and economic outcomes.
Election Integrity & Democratic Process: Election administration, voting rules, election security, campaign finance, and democratic procedures. Also includes: voter ID requirements, gerrymandering and redistricting reform, ranked-choice voting, voter registration and access, campaign finance reform (including banning corporate PACs and dark money), and protecting or restricting voting rights.
Party Alignment & National Political Positioning Statements emphasizing political identity, leadership posture, or alignment with national political figures, parties, or movements rather than specific policy proposals. This category captures campaign rhetoric, endorsements, general calls to action, and statements that express political positioning without committing to a concrete policy.
Note: If a statement mentions a national political figure (such as the President) but also contains a specific policy commitment, categorize it by the policy content, not the partisan framing. Generic slogans, campaign announcements, rally statements, and vague leadership pledges with no identifiable policy content belong here.
If a statement contains multiple policy issues but the system requires one category, assign the category of the first explicit policy issue mentioned. Ignore slogan framing and non‑policy language.

General Classification Notes

When an entry covers multiple topics: Categorize based on the dominant or primary subject of the statement. If the framing clearly emphasizes one issue over others, use that issue. If truly balanced across multiple topics, prefer the broader affordability-related category (Economy & Jobs) for cost-of-living statements, or the most specific policy category for targeted commitments. Homelessness is a cross-category issue. Categorize based on framing: Economy & Jobs (housing affordability focus), Healthcare (mental health or addiction treatment focus), or Public Safety & Crime (enforcement or community safety focus). Reproductive policy is a cross-category issue. Categorize as Social Issues & Civil Rights when framed as a rights or constitutional matter, and as Healthcare when framed as medical access or patient care. Generic campaign statements with no specific policy content — including slogans, promises to "fight for you," fundraising appeals, and endorsement announcements — belong in Party Alignment & National Political Positioning regardless of what topics they broadly reference.