Trump Voters Drive a Rise in Ticket Splitting

Ticket splitters in key presidential battlegrounds and Ohio tend to be supporters of Donald J. Trump who are skeptical of his picks for Senate, polling shows.

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Trump Voters Drive a Rise in Ticket Splitting | INFBusiness.com

By Ruth Igielnik

Sept. 28, 2024, 9:00 a.m. ET

In the 2022 midterm elections, former President Donald J. Trump endorsed dozens of candidates down the ballot, positioning himself as Republicans’ undisputed kingmaker.

But in the competitive races critical to his party’s hopes of regaining control of the Senate, his picks all fell short — leaving the chamber in the hands of Democrats.

This year, even with Mr. Trump himself on the ticket, the Senate candidates he has backed to flip the seats of Democrats in key battlegrounds are running well behind him, according to recent New York Times and Siena College polling.

Across five states with competitive Senate races — Wisconsin, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan — an average of 7 percent of likely voters who plan to support Mr. Trump for president also said they planned to cast a ballot for a Democrat in their state’s Senate race.

Arizona has the highest share of voters who intended to split their tickets: Ten percent of Mr. Trump’s supporters said they would vote for Representative Ruben Gallego in the race for the state’s open Senate seat.

While the dynamics are not identical, many of the races feature long-serving Democratic senators who have been able to chart a moderate course, even as Mr. Trump and his brand of politics won support in the state.

Trump Runs Far Ahead of Senate Republicans in Times/Siena Polls

Among likely voters

Source: New York Times/Siena College polls

By Christine Zhang

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