Despite fewer Americans splitting their ballots between Republicans and Democrats in 2022, those who did split their tickets greatly affected election outcomes in key states.
WHY IT MATTERS—America is so closely divided politically that split-ticket voters can have significant influence on close races.
WHERE IT MATTERED—FiveThirtyEight compiled a list of states where split-ticket voters had the biggest impact.
- In Nevada, Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto won re-election by about only 1 point while Republican Joe Lombardo defeated Democrat Gov. Steve Sisolak by about 1 point.
- In Wisconsin, split-ticket voters supported Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and Democrat Gov. Tony Evers, allowing them to win re-election with narrow margins.
- Georgia’s Senate race runoff is partially due to a small group of voters who supported Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock rather than Republican Herschel Walker, giving Warnock a near 1-point edge.
- Other states influenced by split-ticket voters include New Hampshire, Kansas, Hawaii, Ohio, and Oregon.
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