Doubts about candidates tipped the scales in tightest races

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November 23rd, 2022

A marquee in downtown Atlanta displays the word "vote" on Election Day, Nov. 8, 2022, in Atlanta. Voters deciding to split their tickets or buck their party altogether may have helped Democrats mount a stronger-than-expected performance in the recent midterm elections. AP VoteCast is an extensive survey of this year’s electorate. The survey underscores how voters were selective in their choices despite today’s starkly polarized political climate. Party preferences aside, they often rewarded candidates seen as mainstream while rejecting those viewed as too extreme.  (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

Casting his vote this month in one of the most politically competitive states in the U.S., Seung Lee happily backed Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s reelection. But when it came to the other top Republican on the ballot, Senate candidate Herschel Walker, he was uneasy.

Walker “doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said Lee, a software tester in the Atlanta suburb of Decatur who ultimately backed Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock.

He was just one of hundreds of thousands of voters across the U.S. who split their tickets this year in critical contests for governors’ mansions and congressional seats.

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