With President Biden’s decidedly lacking debate performance and subsequent polling downturn, what was an already difficult fight to preserve a Democratic majority in the Senate could be reliant on a resurgence of voters willing to select candidates of different parties for various positions.
Democrats face a particularly difficult Senate election map, with multiple incumbents in swing states seeking another term. They also only have a remarkably slim 51-49 majority over their Republican counterparts, who enjoy a much more favorable map this cycle.
UNDERDOG DEM USING DAVE CHAPPELLE SHOW TO GAIN EDGE IN PIVOTAL SWING STATE
Senate Democrats up for re-election may be hopeful that split-ticket voting increases in frequency as President Biden’s poll numbers fall. (Getty images)
“If a candidate feels like the presidential candidate is going to lose his or her state, naturally they have to figure out ways to create distance between themselves and the presidential candidate,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
TAMMY BALDWIN WILL STICK TO STATE TOUR INSTEAD OF JOINING BIDEN DURING WISCONSIN VISIT
From left: Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.; former President Trump; and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. (Getty Images)
According to data compiled by the center, split-ticket voting across the presidency and the Senate was most popular in the 1970s and 1980s and more often benefited Democrats, who have been able to frequently score Senate seats in states where Republican presidents won. But the practice has been declining in recent decades.
Per Kondik, this downward trend could make things harder for vulnerable Democrats in the current environment.
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From left: Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont.; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; and Bob Casey, D-Pa. (Getty Images )
The campaigns of Senate Democrats in tough races will…
