This election was the most polarized in a century, according to this one metric

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 11 November 2016

The American electorate is more polarized by party than at any time in a century, at least by one metric. For the first time since the 17th Amendment went into force in 1914, allowing the direct election of U.S. senators, no state split its vote between Senate and presidential candidate, Harry Enten notes at FiveThirtyEight. Every state that voted for Trump and had a Senate race also sent the GOP candidate to Washington, and every state with a Senate race that picked Clinton also chose the Democrat.

"Most voters have sorted themselves into two camps: liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans," Enten said. "This trend is apparent up and down the ballot to a degree that we've never seen before." The first time U.S. senators and presidents were first elected together was 1916, and in 26 presidential cycles, there has always been ticket-splitting he notes, with one near-miss in 1920: "In that election, the only state that didn't vote for the same party in the presidential and Senate race was Kentucky. It chose Republican Richard Ernst for Senate by less than 1 percentage point and Democrat James Cox for president, also by less than 1 point." You can read more, including which senators outperformed Clinton and Trump, at FiveThirtyEight.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox