ABSTRACT
Most scholars of American mass political behavior feel comfortable using and reading the term “issue salience.” It has been used for decades to illustrate that any given policy issue (abortion, gun control, etc.) may be a focus of thinking for some citizens while being ignored by others at the same time. Heinz Eulau (1955) used the term for the first time in the American Political Science Review, and it has appeared in 1273 articles in the APSR, the American Journal of Political Science, the British Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, Political Behavior, and Public Opinion Quarterly.2
