Political candidates in the United States often hope that if their party puts forward an extremely popular presidential candidate, success will trickle down from the top of the ballot to statewide races.

Sometimes presidential candidates may support their party in other contests, but other times the often dormant phenomenon of ticket splitting disrupts those plans.

When voters split their tickets, they vote for candidates of opposing parties in the same election. This practice is becoming increasingly rare in a hyper-partisan environment, but despite the White House victory Republicanssome states Democrats They’re getting to the top.

What was the impact of split-ticket voting in 2024?

Donald Trump was declared president-elect early Wednesday after winning the Electoral College and on track to take the popular vote. But in at least four states, voters have made clear that their support for Trump will not translate to the rest of the GOP.

North Carolina was the first battleground state to be called for Trump on Tuesday night, but even before the presidential race was called in the Tar Heel State, House Democrats Josh Stein loser Republican mark robinsonHe is the person endorsed by Trump in the governor’s race. Stein won by 14.6 points.

How did ticket splitting affect Michigan?

Trump was also declared the winner of Michigan and Wisconsin earlier Wednesday. Democrat Senate Candidates in both states scored victories over their GOP rivals.

Representative Elissa Slotkin Retained Democratic seat in Michigan after defeating former GOP Rep. mike rogers Senator by just 0.3 points tammy baldwin He was re-elected in Wisconsin by 0.9 points over Republican Eric Hovde.

What other states might be affected?

There is still a possibility of ticket splits in Arizona and Pennsylvania, where Senate races are neck-and-neck. Pennsylvania was the state that secured Trump’s victory in 2024. The president-elect also leads in Arizona with 108,000 votes and 64 percent of the vote.

Ticket splitting in past presidential elections

In 2020, voters in only three states split their votes. Vermont and New Hampshire re-elected Republican governors Phil Scott and Chris Sununu, respectively, while sending the Democrat. Joe Biden To the White House. Voters in Maine, which supported Biden’s presidential candidacy, also re-elected Republican Senator Susan Collins.

There was no split-ticket voting in the Senate races and the presidential contest in 2016. But there were five states that supported Democrats Hillary Clintoncampaign and also voted for a Republican governor or supported Trump in electing a Democratic governor

States that voted for GOP governors included Vermont and New Hampshire, which voted for Scott and Sununu, respectively. States that elected Democratic governors included Montana, which re-elected Stephen Bullock of North Carolina, who switched the governorship with the election of Roy Cooper, and West Virginia, which elected Jim Justice. A registered Republican before running for governor, Justice ran as a Democrat and switched his affiliation back to the GOP seven months after taking office.

In 2012, six states split their tickets into eight races. Montana and Missouri elect Democrats to governor and Senate but back Republicans Mitt Romney for the president. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, Montana Senator Jon TesterMissouri Governor Jay Nixon and Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill all were re-elected.

Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker fends off 2012 recall attempt, while state backs Democratic President Barack Obama‘s re-election bid.

Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana also won re-election in 2012, while Democrat Heidi Heitkamp won the North Dakota Senate race. In the presidential election, both states went to Romney. Republican Senator Dean Heller of Nevada was re-elected in 2012, the year his state voted for Obama.

Ticket split in 2022 midterms

Ticket splitting was also observed in the midterm elections in which the presidency was not captured.

In 2022, there were six states that voted for a senator from one party and a governor from the other party. States that elected Democratic senators and Republican governors included Vermont, New Hampshire, Georgia and Nevada. States that elected Republican senators and Democratic governors included Kansas and Wisconsin.