Washington:
In numerous states, Democratic Senate candidates outperformed Kamala Harris, regardless of her loss within the presidential election.
Notably, Dan Osborn in Nebraska and Jon Tester in Montana had vote shares 7 factors greater than Harris’s, however nonetheless misplaced their respective races. In Arizona, Ruben Gallego’s vote share was 4 factors greater than Harris’s and is at present main. Colin Allred in Texas secured a 3-point greater vote share than Harris however did not unseat Ted Cruz. Different notable performances embody Jacky Rosen in Nevada, with a 2-point greater vote share, although the race stays too near name, and Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, who received with a vote share lower than 1 level greater than Harris’s. Moreover, Elissa Slotkin in Michigan and Bob Casey in Pennsylvania had vote shares about 1 level greater than Harris’ as of Wednesday morning.
Based on a report by Vox, these outcomes counsel that voters are distinguishing between the presidential contest and statewide races, with some Democratic Senate candidates performing higher than anticipated.
This distinction raises questions concerning the nature of the backlash towards Democrats. Was it focused at Harris particularly or reflective of a broader anti-Democratic sentiment?
In U.S. politics, it’s normal for candidates to hope {that a} fashionable presidential nominee will deliver success to statewide races. This trickle-down impact can provide their get together a lift in different contests.
Nonetheless, the phenomenon of ticket-splitting can typically wreck these plans. Ticket-splitting happens when voters forged ballots for candidates from opposing events in the identical election.
Regardless of being uncommon in at this time’s hyper-partisan local weather, ticket-splitting nonetheless occurs. Apparently, even with a Republican White Home victory, some state Democrats are managing to return out on high. This implies that voters are making deliberate selections, moderately than blindly voting alongside get together traces.
In 2012, six states cut up their tickets in eight races. For instance, Montana and Missouri elected Democrats to the governor’s workplace and the Senate however voted for Republican Mitt Romney for president.
In 2016, 5 states cut up their tickets, voting for both a Republican governor or a Democratic governor alongside their presidential selection and solely three states exhibited split-ticket voting in 2020.
