10 pivotal election issues that weren’t

What issues are top of mind in voters’ minds as they cast ballots Tuesday?

Anthony Corrado, professor of government at Colby College in Maine, says that while candidates and lawmakers from both parties are politicizing the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak and the ongoing campaign against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, Corrado said voters have forgotten about some issues expected to have an impact on the election because they have “moved off of the front pages.”

Here’s a list of 10 factors, hyped as game-changers in this election cycle, that didn’t turn out that way:

1. Obamacare rollout:

After Obama promised a functioning website by Oct. 1, 2013, Republicans slammed the administration for the glitches on HealthCare.gov where people purchase the health insurance plans.But one year after the site opened, more than 7 million people have signed up, a million more people than the Congressional Budget Office predicted would be insured for this year.

Obamacare is still the focus of GOP criticism, but Corrado said the website’s failure wasn’t as “cutting of an issue” because many people enrolled in the exchanges have generally expressed satisfaction.

2. Government shutdown:

After tying the funding of Obamacare to keeping the government running, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and other Tea Party lawmakers were blamed for the 16-day shutdown that cost $2 billion in lost productivity.

Yet Cruz maintains popularity among his base while Congress avoided a shutdown this year, funding the government well in advance of the Sept. 30 deadline to go home and campaign for midterms.

“The government shutdown is ancient history,” said Michele Swers, associate professor of government at Georgetown University. “Unless it is tied directly to an economic effect, people are not worried about it.”

3. NSA leaks:

Edward Snowden, the former computer specialist for the National Security Agency who exposed the agency’s activity, legitimatized people’s skepticism about government surveillance programs.

Stories in The Washington Post and The Guardian revealed that the NSA spied on foreign countries, collected text messages, and received phone records from most U.S. telephone companies.

Danny Hayes, associate professor of political science at The George Washington University, explained that the NSA scandal is difficult for the parties to bring up because it “doesn’t look favorably for either.”

4. Recovering economy:

The latest jobs report shows an uptick in the economy: the unemployment rate fell just under six percent and 248,000 jobs were added in September.

Yet, Obama and Democrats haven’t been able to capitalize on the slowly improving state of the economy because the Republican strategy is focusing on the president’s unpopularity, Hayes said.

“Republicans are trying to use that to try to mobilize Republican voters not happy with Obama and remind independent voters who are not particularly happy with him,” Hayes said.

5. Latino vote:

A record number of Latino voters participated in the 2012 election, but experts say another historic turnout is unlikely especially after Obama’s delay in immigration policy until after the election.

Matt Barreto, co-founder of the research and polling group Latino Decisions, explained the uncertainty of how Latino voter turnout in the midterms and their impact in competitive Senate races.

“It is unknown how GOP will do among Latino voters and unknown whether Democrats will be able to mobilize at the historic rates they did in 2012,” Barreto said at a Latino voter panel.

6. Obama lawsuit:

Four months ago, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced the chamber’s plan to sue Obama for abusing his legal authority when using executive actions.

But the hype has already subsided and the suit has yet to be filed.

Swers said that “Democrats would have liked to capitalize on this much more,” adding that it would have been more “dramatic if they tried to impeach Obama.”

7. Benghazi:

Swers said foreign policy issues in general don’t impact voters as much as domestic concerns that are “directly related to people’s pocketbooks.”

Still, the threat of ISIS has become a sore point for the administration _ totally overshadowing the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya that killed four U.S. officials, despite multiple Congressional hearings and efforts by the GOP to make it into a top-tier issue.

8. Gun-control laws:

Obama and Democratic lawmakers promised stricter gun laws after the gun control debate was reignited by the Newtown, Conn. school shooting where 26 students and staff were fatally shot. But almost two years later, there has been little progress on the federal level after expanded background checks for gun purchases failed to pass the Senate last April.

“In December 2012, people probably thought there would be a really long debate leading to something meaningful and two years later, it is pretty much off the radar,” Hayes said.

9. Marriage equality:

Since the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act last June, recent court rulings have legalized same sex marriage, bringing the current total to 32 states that allow same sex couples to legally marry and receive benefits. But in a sharp contrast to earlier years, marriage equality has been largely absent from campaign rhetoric, signaling both its degree of acceptance _ and the fact it’s still a hot-button issue to a shrinking number of opponents.

10. Gender equality:

Female lawmakers have become more vocal about gender equality issues- equal pay, more access to affordable child care, and paid family leave. And if Hillary Clinton runs in 2016, the issues will definitely come to the fore. But not so much this time around.

Jeff Bustraan