As Americans flocked to the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots in the highly-anticipated midterms and then buckled in to await results in their homes, election night may have featured a common player for many throughout the country: alcohol.
A study recently published in the National Sleep Foundation's journal Sleep Health found that the 2020 presidential election coincided with increased alcohol consumption among U.S. participants, as well as heightened stress and reduced sleep.
In apparent continuation of this trend, data from companies that offer on-demand alcohol delivery shows that sales spiked on some platforms and that Americans favored certain brands and types of alcoholic beverages.
Popular Drinks On Election Night
Drizly, which facilitates alcohol deliveries from local retailers through its app and website, saw Americans order spirits more than any other type of alcohol across the country, representing 46 percent of sales. Wine came in second at 40 percent, while beer took third place at 12 percent.
This was a change from Election Day 2020, when wine was the top-selling category on Drizly, followed by liquor and beer, respectively.
The biggest increase in Drizly orders was in blue and swing states.
Ohio, Florida, Arizona, California and New York saw respective upticks of 31 percent, 15 percent, 12 percent, 10 percent and 8 percent, all in comparison to sales on the previous four Tuesdays.
On Election Day in 2020, for comparison, some of the blue states that Drizly services, such as California, Massachusetts, Oregon and New York, saw alcohol sales jump more than 75 percent.
Notably, Ohio, Florida and Arizona all featured highly-watched U.S. Senate races in the 2022 elections. Republican JD Vance, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, beat Democrat Tim Ryan for a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, while incumbent Republican Senator Marco Rubio beat Democrat Val Demings in Florida. The race in Arizona between Senator Mark Kelly and Trump-endorsed Republican Blake Masters has not yet been called, though Kelly was leading as of Wednesday afternoon.
In Pennsylvania, which also featured a high-profile U.S. Senate race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz, hard seltzer was the state's top-selling category on Election Day.
Across Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and Florida, vodka was a top seller, while red and white wine sold best in California, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio and Colorado.
Tito's Handmade Vodka claimed first place as Drizly's top-selling brand on Election Day 2022, while Veuve Clicquot took second. Tito's was also one of the top brands sold by the New York City-based Minibar Delivery, which saw an overall 8 percent increase in sales on Election Day compared to a week prior. Other top brands on Minibar Delivery were Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc and Josh Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon.
Minibar Delivery's increase in alcohol sales on Election Day 2022 was not as significant as its increase surrounding the 2020 election. The company said that it saw a 19 percent spike in sales in preparation for Election Day in 2020.
In that election, Tito's was also a top-selling brand in a pool that included Veuve Clicquot, White Claw, Bud Light, and Casamigos. Wine accounted for the most sales on Minibar Delivery in 2020, followed by liquor and then beer, though each category saw increases compared to the week prior.
Grocery delivery service Instacart saw a roughly 3 percent increase in alcohol orders on Election Day 2022 when compared to the average of the previous four Tuesdays. Overall, more than one in 12 Instacart customers ordered alcohol on Tuesday.
On Election Day in 2020, Instacart saw a higher increase of about 15 percent in orders containing alcohol compared to the average of the previous four Tuesdays in U.S. states that can deliver alcohol. More than one in 8 Instacart customers ordered alcohol that day, while the top alcohol types that saw major sales spikes included small batch bourbon, sparkling rosé and Irish whiskey.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Zoe Strozewski is a Newsweek reporter based in New Jersey. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and global politics. Zoe ... Read more
