For a campaign known for exciting young people, Bernie Sanders has spent a lot of time lately focused on Social Security. The Vermont senator has a detailed plan and has sent surrogates to early states to focus on senior issues.

And after a disappointing Super Tuesday, Sanders focused on Social Security in a big way in recent days by lobbing a range of attacks against former Vice President Joe Biden over his record as states like Michigan and Florida get set to vote.

“We expect that it will be a powerful issue in the states ahead,” said senior Sanders advisor David Sirota in an interview with Yahoo Finance. “One of the reasons Bernie Sanders is the strongest general election nominee is because Trump cannot impugn Bernie's record consistently fighting to protect and expand Social Security,” Sirota said.

View photos CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 07: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to a crowd gathered for a campaign rally in Grant Park on March 07, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. The Illinois primary will be held on March 17. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) More

Sanders officials say voters are taking notice and there is some evidence to back them up. According to Google data, searches for “joe biden social security” have spiked since Super Tuesday. More people are currently searching for it than other, traditionally more common searches, like “joe biden ukraine”

Of course, other searches (such as “Joe Biden”) continue to be much more numerous but Google’s autocomplete function is suggesting “Social Security” when you put in the candidate’s name.

View photos Google autocomplete results for Joe Biden on Friday. More

What the searchers (many of whom are coming from upcoming primary states like Michigan) are finding is a range of articles that bring up Biden’s background on the issue.

Since announcing his candidacy, Biden has consistently promised to raise Social Security benefits. At a fundraiser on Friday, according to a reporter who listened in, he once again discussed his commitment to protect Social Security.

The effort from Bernie Sanders and his allies is part of an attempt to cut into Biden’s overwhelming support among older voters. Biden has consistently dominated in that demographic. Even in Iowa, where Sanders won the popular vote and made Biden’s record on Social Security an issue, older voters still broke definitively toward the former Vice President.

“The Bernie campaign is leaning into that as a distinction between the two candidates left in the Democratic primary,” says Alex Lawson, a Sanders supporter and one of Washington’s most visible advocates for raising Social Security benefits.

Bernie’s case: Biden is ‘trying to erase his record from memory’

The focus on the issue has led to plenty of campaign barbs including a Twitter back and forth in recent days.

Get real, Joe. One of us has a history of not only fighting cuts to Social Security but working to expand benefits. And that’s why we are the campaign best positioned to defeat Donald Trump. https://t.co/WyQfY5IQyi — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 6, 2020

Biden has often responded by turning attention toward President Trump, who recently said, "Oh, we'll be cutting," when asked about entitlement programs at a Fox News town hall. “Here's the deal, folks: Social Security is on the ballot this year, and the choice couldn't be clearer,” read a recent Biden tweet. “I'll protect and expand it. Donald Trump will cut it and take it away.”