The following chart measures how voters in U.S. House races in presidential years voted in the presidential race. The row on the far left details which party voters supported in House races -- the second row ("GOP President," etc) describes which candidate for president they supported. The information is from the New York Times, November 10, 1996. The Times reports that the 1976 and 1980 data does not include voters from California and New York.
Note that ticket-splitting has declined for supporters of Democratic House candidates -- no surprise given the major shift in voting behavior of conservative white voters, particularly in the south. The average "straight ticket" percentage is consistently near 80% -- much higher in 1992 and 1996 if Ross Perot voters are taken out of the sample.
| (Presidential Election) | ||||||
| HOUSE VOTE | 1996 | 1992 | 1988 | 1984 | 1980 | 1976 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOP House Candidate | ||||||
| GOP President | 76 | 72 | 82 | 93 | 83 | 87 |
| DEM President | 15 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 11 | 12 |
| Independent | 8 | 18 | - | - | 5 | - |
| GOP President (W/out Ind.)* |
83% | 88% | - | - | 88% | - |
| DEM House Candidate | ||||||
| GOP President | 8 | 11 | 27 | 23 | 22 | 23 |
| DEM President | 84 | 74 | 72 | 76 | 69 | 75 |
| Independ. | 7 | 15 | - | - | 7 | - |
| DEM President (W/out Ind.)* |
91% | 87% | - | - | 76% | - |
| SUMMARY: STRAIGHT TICKET (Without Independents) | ||||||
| GOP | 83 | 88 | 82 | 93 | 88 | 87 |
| DEM | 91 | 87 | 72 | 76 | 76 | 75 |
| SUMMARY: AVERAGE STRAIGHT TICKET** | ||||||
| With Independent | 80% | 73% | 77% | 84.5% | 76% | 81% |
| W/out Independent | 87% | 87.5% | 77% | 84.5% | 82% | 81% |
* "Without independent": This measures the percentage of voters who only voted for one of the the two major party presidential candidates -- e.g., voters for an independent are eliminated.
** Note that the "average straight ticket" is a simple average: DEM + GOP, divided by two. The relative vote for parties in House races is treated as equal although this is only true for 1996 -- Democrats won more House votes than Republicans in other elections.
Produced in July 1997 by
The Center for Voting and Democracy
(PO Box 60037 Washington, DC 20039