Wisconsin midterms: Ticket splitters may have made the difference

MILWAUKEE - Based on this election and many before, Wisconsin has proved to be a very divided state. In some case, voters split their tickets – meaning a person voted for candidates from different political parties. 

"There were about 40,000 people who said, I’m going to vote for a Democrat for governor and a Republican for senate," said Mordecai Lee, UW-Milwaukee Professor Emeritus.

Lee said to the average voter, ticket splitting may seem bizarre, but do not forget about independents. 

"Wisconsin has a tradition that is now down to about 1% of the population and that long-standing tradition is people who are independent, who have very loose partisan identity or partisan attraction and who are perfectly comfortable voting for one party and then another on the same ballot," Lee said. "And, nobody’s been able to find them. I would love to find them."

Mordecai Lee

Lee brings up a very good point. FOX6 News asked about ticket splitting on the FOX6 News Milwaukee Facebook page – trying to find someone, anyone, who would admit to splitting their ticket – and be willing to talk about it. No one answered that plea. We also asked on FOX6 WakeUp.

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We found someone on Twitter who said their husband split his ticket while early voting. However, they declined an on-camera interview. 

"It almost sounds like this is Little Red Riding Hood’s grandma who lives out deep in the forest, and she lives off the grid, she didn’t see any commercials, but she knew she had to walk into town to vote. That’s almost like that 1% that now controls Wisconsin elections in the sense that it was a narrow victory," Lee said.

The search for a ticket-splitting voter drags on. 

If you are a ticket splitter and would not mind talking with us in person, we are more than willing to hear your thoughts. Email us at fox6news@fox.com.