
EMILY SCHERER / GETTY IMAGES
There is a growing strain of illiberalism both within the Republican Party and among Republican voters. But what does that illiberalism actually look like among elected members in Congress?
Quantifying politicians’ commitments to upholding democracy isn’t easy. Even defining “democracy” is complicated — scholars disagree on its exact definition — let alone trying to establish how closely politicians or parties adhere to democratic principles. There’s no ongoing survey of how strongly elected members of Congress believe in democratic principles, for instance, and it’s not clear what such a survey would even tell us, given that politicians (and their staffers) are often masters at spin. But just like aggregating politicians’ votes can tell us something about where they fall ideologically on economic or social policies, one thing we can do is look at how members of Congress vote when issues of democracy are brought to the floor.
Of course, the catch here is that matters of democracy are rarely brought for a floor vote. “Most aspects of democracy are not up for debate in Congress in any given year,” said Michael Coppedge, a political scientist at the University of Notre Dame and one of the principal investigators at Varieties of Democracy. That’s an important caveat because the comprehensiveness of such a metric is limited by what Congress actually votes on. “There’s a lot that’s taken for granted that’s essential to what democracy is,” Coppedge said. “Instead, what we get our votes on [are] skirmishes on the periphery of what democracy means.”
One more complication is that there is no single agreed-upon list of what are (or aren’t) issues of democracy. Never mind what the more-democratic position is on each issue.
Republicans can govern without winning a majority. That threatens our democracy.
Bearing all of that in mind, I’ve built two different metrics to help us understand a legislator’s stance on democracy. First is a minimalist definition of democracy, limited to basic requirements like free and, in theory, fair elections and other measures that help safeguard democracy. Second is a more expansive definition, which contains everything in the first category, but also includes bills that expand civil liberties and who has political power. That way, we can see where politicians converge on these two metrics — and where they differ.
First, the most bare-bones definition: “issues of electoral democracy.” Included in this definition are the most basic requirements of any functioning democracy, like free elections and freedom of the press. And while most of these issues typically don’t come up for congressional votes, some did this year — most notably, the counting of electoral votes from Pennsylvania and Arizona in the 2020 election, usually a ceremonial event that this year faced objections from members of Congress and coincided with the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. Four other types of bills fall into this category: a bill that would have set up an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack;1 when that failed to pass the Senate, a bill to create a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol;2 a bill to increase the independence of government oversight of the executive branch;3 and the second bill to impeach former President Donald Trump,4 as he was charged with inciting “an insurrection against the government of the United States.” We realize that bill was more political than the others in this category — and we did debate whether to include it — but ultimately we decided that being too political wasn’t a good reason for exclusion, especially as the bill did deal with a core democratic principle: the peaceful transfer of power in America’s elections. (For what it’s worth, including this vote did not meaningfully change the results.)
related: Advantage, GOP Read more. »
How politicians vote on these issues doesn’t just reflect the extent to which they back President Biden’s policies, which FiveThirtyEight tracks via its Biden Score metric. Though party lines are important here, this stripped-down metric of democracy still shows substantial variation — particularly among Republicans.5 On the other hand, Democrats are mostly clustered together in the upper-right hand corner.

Take Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Bill Cassidy, Mitt Romney and Ben Sasse. All five of them opposed the objections to counting electoral votes in both Pennsylvania and Arizona and supported the National Commission to investigate Jan. 6 — all three of the pro-democracy bills the Senate voted on in this category, even though they differ quite a bit in the extent to which they support Biden’s agenda. Similarly, in the House, Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Reed, John Katko, Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney all voted largely in favor of the pro-democracy measures in front of the House, even though Cheney rarely votes with Biden otherwise.
On the other end of the spectrum, you can see which representatives have voted against both Biden and the bare-bones pro-democracy measures Congress has taken up. For instance, Sens. Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Tommy Tuberville, Roger Marshall and Cindy Hyde-Smith have all voted against the democratic position every single time, even though Hyde-Smith tends to vote with Biden markedly more than the others.
related: How The House Got Stuck At 435 Seats Read more. »
But this bare-bones metric is, of course, a fairly narrow definition of what it means to live in a democracy, which is why I created a second metric that also includes bills that try to create a more expansive and inclusive democracy. Using legislative scorecards from organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, the government watchdog group Common Cause and the nonprofit research organization Vote Smart, I looked at all of the other bills that Congress brought to the floor this year that could also be considered key to a functioning democracy, in addition to the ones I’ve already mentioned.6 Bills that fall into this second category include:
- Bills aimed at expanding civil liberties, like the rights of groups like women — in addition to bills focused on hate crimes, like the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act; expanding immigration rights, like the American Dream and Promise Act; increasing transparency and accountability in policing, like the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act; and LGBTQ equality, like the Equality Act;
- Bills that expand voting rights and access, like the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act;
- Bills addressing the historical legacy of slavery in the U.S. like making Juneteenth a federal holiday or removing confederate statues from the Capitol. (Groups like Vote Smart placed these bills in the “Civil Liberties and Civil Rights” and “Constitution” categories; these measures recognize the role slavery had in entrenching inequality in the U.S.)7
Interestingly, the overall picture doesn’t change that much when you look at this fuller set of bills — although partisan differences are somewhat starker. While the bare-bones metric had a few Republicans on par with Democrats, this is no longer the case: There are no Republicans who are more supportive than Democrats of the more expansive definition of democracy.

In the Senate, it’s still Collins, Murkowski, Romney, Sasse, and Cassidy that lead Republicans on this metric — supporting almost all of the bills that fall in this second metric. The notable exception is the For the People Act, which no Senate Republican voted in favor of. Meanwhile, we saw more movement in the House, which voted on more “small-d” democratic bills and whose democracy score increasingly correlated with the Biden score. However, there were still some Republicans who supported a majority of these more expansive democratic positions, such as Fitzpatrick, Reed, Katko and Kinzinger, even though most of them vote with Biden less than half of the time. Cheney, however, fell on this more expansive metric in large part because she didn’t support legislation like a bill to prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, the For the People Act and the Washington, D.C. Admission Act.
And this brings us to an important point. As this more expansive definition of democracy shows, many of these issues have become polarized by party. That can make it hard to disentangle anti-democratic politics from partisan politics, according to Gretchen Helmke, a professor at the University of Rochester and one of the founders of Bright Line Watch, a group of political scientists that monitors democracy and threats to it. H.R. 1, the For The People Act, is an instructive example: Democrats have pushed this bill as small-d democratic because it makes it easier for people to exercise their right to vote, but they also first introduced it in 2019 as a statement of what the party stood for, when it had no chance of passing a Republican-controlled Senate and White House. So have Republicans voted against this bill as part of a stance against voting rights, or have they opposed it because they worry it delivers Democrats a sweeping legislative victory? There is no one answer here. In nearly every bill we looked at in the fuller metric, it was very hard to separate the politics from the policy.
Of course, this metric is not based on a random subset of possible issues. Democrats, who currently control both houses of Congress, might be strategic in what they choose to move forward, political scientist Jake Grumbach noted. Grumbach, a professor of political science at the University of Washington and the author of a recent paper tracking the state of liberal democracy at the state level, cautioned that Democrats might want to avoid difficult decisions for their members by introducing bills that could divide the party, leading them to keep bills off the floor on which the party doesn’t agree — a form of selection bias that plagues all studies of congressional voting behavior.8 We should therefore be careful about drawing any conclusions about the liberal and illiberal tendencies of the elected officials in our sample. But to see where your representative or senators fall, check out the full set of scores for all legislators on this metric in the table below:
Does your representative support democracy?
Pro-democracy percentage for each legislator in the House and Senate, based on six votes (“bare-bones” definition) or 18 votes (“more expansive” definition)
pro-democracy percentage | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
chamber | legislator | party | bare-bones | more expansive |
House | Alma Adams | Dem. | 100.0% | 100.0% |
House | Pete Aguilar | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Colin Allred | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jake Auchincloss | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Cindy Axne | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Nanette Diaz Barragán | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Karen Bass | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Joyce Beatty | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ami Bera | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Don Beyer | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Sanford D. Bishop Jr. | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Earl Blumenauer | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Lisa Blunt Rochester | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Suzanne Bonamici | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Carolyn Bourdeaux | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jamaal Bowman | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Brendan Boyle | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Anthony Brown | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Julia Brownley | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Cori Bush | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Cheri Bustos | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | G.K. Butterfield | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Salud Carbajal | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Tony Cárdenas | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | André Carson | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Troy A. Carter | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Matt Cartwright | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ed Case | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Sean Casten | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Joaquin Castro | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Judy Chu | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | David Cicilline | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Katherine Clark | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Yvette D. Clarke | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Emanuel Cleaver | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | James E. Clyburn | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Steve Cohen | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Gerald E. Connolly | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jim Cooper | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | J. Luis Correa | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Joe Courtney | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Angie Craig | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Charlie Crist | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jason Crow | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Henry Cuellar | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Sharice Davids | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Danny K. Davis | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Madeleine Dean | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Peter DeFazio | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Diana DeGette | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Rosa L. DeLauro | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Suzan DelBene | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Antonio Delgado | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Val Demings | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Mark DeSaulnier | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ted Deutch | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Debbie Dingell | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Mike Doyle | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Veronica Escobar | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Anna G. Eshoo | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Adriano Espaillat | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Dwight Evans | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Lizzie Pannill Fletcher | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Bill Foster | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Lois Frankel | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ruben Gallego | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | John Garamendi | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jesús “Chuy” García | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Sylvia R. Garcia | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jimmy Gomez | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Vicente Gonzalez | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Josh Gottheimer | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Al Green | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Raúl Grijalva | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Josh Harder | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jahana Hayes | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Brian Higgins | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jim Himes | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Steven A. Horsford | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Chrissy Houlahan | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Steny H. Hoyer | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jared Huffman | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Sheila Jackson Lee | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Sara Jacobs | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Pramila Jayapal | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Hakeem Jeffries | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Eddie Bernice Johnson | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Hank Johnson | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Mondaire Jones | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Kaiali’i Kahele | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Marcy Kaptur | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | William Keating | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ro Khanna | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Daniel Kildee | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Derek Kilmer | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Andy Kim | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ann Kirkpatrick | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Raja Krishnamoorthi | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ann Kuster | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Conor Lamb | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jim Langevin | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Rick Larsen | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | John B. Larson | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Brenda Lawrence | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Al Lawson | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Barbara Lee | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Susie Lee | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Teresa Leger Fernandez | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Andy Levin | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Mike Levin | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ted Lieu | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Zoe Lofgren | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Alan Lowenthal | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Elaine Luria | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Stephen F. Lynch | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Tom Malinowski | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Carolyn Maloney | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Kathy E. Manning | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Doris O. Matsui | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Lucy McBath | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Betty McCollum | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | A. Donald McEachin | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | James McGovern | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jerry McNerney | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Gregory W. Meeks | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Grace Meng | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Kweisi Mfume | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Gwen Moore | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Joseph D. Morelle | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Seth Moulton | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Frank J. Mrvan | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jerrold Nadler | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Grace Napolitano | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Richard E. Neal | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Joe Neguse | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Marie Newman | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Donald Norcross | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Tom O’Halleran | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ilhan Omar | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Frank Pallone Jr. | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jimmy Panetta | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Chris Pappas | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Bill Pascrell Jr. | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Donald Payne Jr. | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Nancy Pelosi | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ed Perlmutter | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Scott Peters | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Dean Phillips | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Chellie Pingree | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Mark Pocan | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Katie Porter | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ayanna Pressley | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | David Price | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Mike Quigley | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jamie Raskin | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Kathleen Rice | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Deborah K. Ross | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Lucille Roybal-Allard | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Raul Ruiz | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Bobby L. Rush | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Tim Ryan | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | John P. Sarbanes | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Mary Gay Scanlon | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jan Schakowsky | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Adam Schiff | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Bradley Schneider | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Kurt Schrader | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Kim Schrier | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Robert C. Scott | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Terri A. Sewell | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Brad Sherman | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Mikie Sherrill | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Albio Sires | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Elissa Slotkin | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Adam Smith | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Darren Soto | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Abigail Spanberger | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jackie Speier | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Melanie A. Stansbury | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Greg Stanton | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Haley Stevens | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Marilyn Strickland | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Thomas Suozzi | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Eric Swalwell | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Mike Thompson | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Dina Titus | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Paul D. Tonko | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Norma Torres | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Ritchie Torres | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Lori Trahan | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Lauren Underwood | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Juan Vargas | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Marc Veasey | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Filemon Vela | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Nydia M. Velázquez | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Maxine Waters | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Bonnie Watson Coleman | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Peter Welch | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Jennifer Wexton | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Susan Wild | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Nikema Williams | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Frederica Wilson | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | John A. Yarmuth | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Tammy Baldwin | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Michael F. Bennet | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Richard Blumenthal | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Cory A. Booker | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Sherrod Brown | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Maria Cantwell | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Benjamin L. Cardin | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Thomas R. Carper | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Christopher A. Coons | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Catherine Cortez Masto | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Tammy Duckworth | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Richard J. Durbin | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Dianne Feinstein | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Margaret Wood Hassan | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Martin Heinrich | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | John W. Hickenlooper | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Mazie K. Hirono | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Tim Kaine | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Mark Kelly | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Angus S. King Jr. | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Patrick J. Leahy | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Ben R. Luján | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Joe Manchin | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Edward J. Markey | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Robert Menendez | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Jeff Merkley | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Christopher Murphy | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Jon Ossoff | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Alex Padilla | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Gary C. Peters | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Jack Reed | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Jacky Rosen | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Bernie Sanders | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Brian Schatz | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Charles E. Schumer | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Jeanne Shaheen | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Debbie Stabenow | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Jon Tester | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Chris Van Hollen | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Mark R. Warner | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Raphael G. Warnock | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Elizabeth Warren | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Sheldon Whitehouse | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Senate | Ron Wyden | Dem. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
House | Kathy Castor | Dem. | 100.0 | 97.4 |
House | Jim Costa | Dem. | 100.0 | 97.4 |
House | Lloyd Doggett | Dem. | 91.7 | 97.4 |
House | Robin Kelly | Dem. | 91.7 | 97.4 |
House | Sean Patrick Maloney | Dem. | 100.0 | 97.4 |
House | Stephanie Murphy | Dem. | 100.0 | 97.4 |
House | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Dem. | 100.0 | 97.4 |
House | Linda Sánchez | Dem. | 100.0 | 97.4 |
House | David Scott | Dem. | 91.7 | 97.4 |
House | Mark Takano | Dem. | 100.0 | 97.4 |
House | David Trone | Dem. | 91.7 | 97.4 |
House | Ron Kind | Dem. | 100.0 | 94.7 |
House | Bennie G. Thompson | Dem. | 100.0 | 94.7 |
Senate | Amy Klobuchar | Dem. | 100.0 | 92.9 |
Senate | Patty Murray | Dem. | 87.5 | 92.9 |
Senate | Kyrsten Sinema | Dem. | 87.5 | 92.9 |
Senate | Tina Smith | Dem. | 100.0 | 92.9 |
House | Rashida Tlaib | Dem. | 83.3 | 92.1 |
House | Jared Golden | Dem. | 91.7 | 86.8 |
Senate | Bill Cassidy | Rep. | 100.0 | 71.4 |
Senate | Susan Collins | Rep. | 100.0 | 71.4 |
Senate | Lisa Murkowski | Rep. | 100.0 | 71.4 |
Senate | Mitt Romney | Rep. | 100.0 | 71.4 |
Senate | Ben Sasse | Rep. | 100.0 | 71.4 |
House | Brian Fitzpatrick | Rep. | 66.7 | 68.4 |
Senate | Richard Burr | Rep. | 87.5 | 64.3 |
Senate | Patrick J. Toomey | Rep. | 87.5 | 64.3 |
House | John Katko | Rep. | 83.3 | 57.9 |
House | Adam Kinzinger | Rep. | 83.3 | 57.9 |
House | Tom Reed | Rep. | 66.7 | 57.9 |
Senate | Rob Portman | Rep. | 75.0 | 57.1 |
Senate | Mike Rounds | Rep. | 62.5 | 57.1 |
House | Fred Upton | Rep. | 66.7 | 52.6 |
Senate | Roy Blunt | Rep. | 62.5 | 50.0 |
Senate | Mike Braun | Rep. | 62.5 | 50.0 |
Senate | James M. Inhofe | Rep. | 62.5 | 50.0 |
Senate | James E. Risch | Rep. | 62.5 | 50.0 |
Senate | Richard C. Shelby | Rep. | 62.5 | 50.0 |
House | Don Bacon | Rep. | 50.0 | 47.4 |
House | Jaime Herrera Beutler | Rep. | 66.7 | 47.4 |
House | Chris Smith | Rep. | 50.0 | 47.4 |
Senate | John Barrasso | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Marsha Blackburn | Rep. | 62.5 | 42.9 |
Senate | John Boozman | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Shelley Moore Capito | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | John Cornyn | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Tom Cotton | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Kevin Cramer | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Mike Crapo | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Steve Daines | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Joni Ernst | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Deb Fischer | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Lindsey Graham | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Chuck Grassley | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Bill Hagerty | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | John Hoeven | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Ron Johnson | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | James Lankford | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Mitch McConnell | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Jerry Moran | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Marco Rubio | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Tim Scott | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Dan Sullivan | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | John Thune | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Thom Tillis | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Roger F. Wicker | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
Senate | Todd Young | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.9 |
House | Liz Cheney | Rep. | 83.3 | 42.1 |
House | Jeff Fortenberry | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.1 |
House | Andrew R. Garbarino | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.1 |
House | Tony Gonzales | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.1 |
House | Anthony Gonzalez | Rep. | 66.7 | 42.1 |
House | Trey Hollingsworth | Rep. | 50.0 | 42.1 |
House | Peter Meijer | Rep. | 66.7 | 42.1 |
House | Dan Newhouse | Rep. | 66.7 | 42.1 |
House | David G. Valadao | Rep. | 50.0 | 41.2 |
House | David Joyce | Rep. | 41.7 | 39.5 |
House | Don Young | Rep. | 33.3 | 39.5 |
House | Troy Balderson | Rep. | 33.3 | 36.8 |
House | John R. Curtis | Rep. | 50.0 | 36.8 |
House | Rodney Davis | Rep. | 50.0 | 36.8 |
House | Carlos A. Gimenez | Rep. | 16.7 | 36.8 |
House | French Hill | Rep. | 50.0 | 36.8 |
House | Ashley Hinson | Rep. | 33.3 | 36.8 |
House | Michael T. McCaul | Rep. | 33.3 | 36.8 |
House | Blake D. Moore | Rep. | 50.0 | 36.8 |
House | Pete Stauber | Rep. | 33.3 | 36.8 |
House | Ann Wagner | Rep. | 33.3 | 36.8 |
Senate | Mike Lee | Rep. | 50.0 | 35.7 |
Senate | Rand Paul | Rep. | 50.0 | 35.7 |
House | María Elvira Salazar | Rep. | 25.0 | 35.3 |
House | Young Kim | Rep. | 25.0 | 34.2 |
House | Mike Simpson | Rep. | 50.0 | 34.2 |
House | Mark Amodei | Rep. | 33.3 | 31.6 |
House | Cliff Bentz | Rep. | 33.3 | 31.6 |
House | Gus M. Bilirakis | Rep. | 16.7 | 31.6 |
House | Mario Diaz-Balart | Rep. | 0.0 | 31.6 |
House | Tom Emmer | Rep. | 33.3 | 31.6 |
House | Mike Gallagher | Rep. | 41.7 | 31.6 |
House | Brett S. Guthrie | Rep. | 33.3 | 31.6 |
House | Bill Huizenga | Rep. | 33.3 | 31.6 |
House | Dusty Johnson | Rep. | 50.0 | 31.6 |
House | Robert E. Latta | Rep. | 33.3 | 31.6 |
House | David McKinley | Rep. | 50.0 | 31.6 |
House | Mariannette Miller-Meeks | Rep. | 50.0 | 31.6 |
House | John Moolenaar | Rep. | 33.3 | 31.6 |
House | Victoria Spartz | Rep. | 33.3 | 31.6 |
House | Bryan Steil | Rep. | 33.3 | 31.6 |
House | Van Taylor | Rep. | 50.0 | 31.6 |
House | Michael Turner | Rep. | 33.3 | 31.6 |
House | Brad Wenstrup | Rep. | 33.3 | 31.6 |
House | Steve Womack | Rep. | 50.0 | 31.6 |
House | Vern Buchanan | Rep. | 33.3 | 28.9 |
House | Dan Crenshaw | Rep. | 33.3 | 28.9 |
House | Gregory F. Murphy | Rep. | 25.0 | 28.9 |
Senate | John Kennedy | Rep. | 25.0 | 28.6 |
Senate | Cynthia M. Lummis | Rep. | 25.0 | 28.6 |
Senate | Rick Scott | Rep. | 25.0 | 28.6 |
House | Larry Bucshon | Rep. | 33.3 | 26.3 |
House | Steve Chabot | Rep. | 16.7 | 26.3 |
House | James Comer | Rep. | 33.3 | 26.3 |
House | Randy Feenstra | Rep. | 33.3 | 26.3 |
House | A. Drew Ferguson | Rep. | 33.3 | 26.3 |
House | Glenn Grothman | Rep. | 33.3 | 26.3 |
House | Chris Jacobs | Rep. | 16.7 | 26.3 |
House | Nicole Malliotakis | Rep. | 0.0 | 26.3 |
House | Cathy McMorris Rodgers | Rep. | 33.3 | 26.3 |
House | David Schweikert | Rep. | 16.7 | 26.3 |
House | Chris Stewart | Rep. | 16.7 | 26.3 |
House | Jeff Van Drew | Rep. | 0.0 | 26.3 |
House | Michael Waltz | Rep. | 33.3 | 26.3 |
House | Kay Granger | Rep. | 25.0 | 23.7 |
House | Darrell E. Issa | Rep. | 16.7 | 23.7 |
House | Roger Williams | Rep. | 16.7 | 23.7 |
House | Kelly Armstrong | Rep. | 33.3 | 21.1 |
House | Andy Barr | Rep. | 33.3 | 21.1 |
House | Stephanie I. Bice | Rep. | 16.7 | 21.1 |
House | Mike Bost | Rep. | 0.0 | 21.1 |
House | Kevin Brady | Rep. | 16.7 | 21.1 |
House | Michael Burgess | Rep. | 0.0 | 21.1 |
House | Ken Calvert | Rep. | 0.0 | 21.1 |
House | Russ Fulcher | Rep. | 16.7 | 21.1 |
House | Mike Garcia | Rep. | 0.0 | 21.1 |
House | Garret Graves | Rep. | 16.7 | 21.1 |
House | Richard Hudson | Rep. | 0.0 | 21.1 |
House | Bill Johnson | Rep. | 0.0 | 21.1 |
House | David Kustoff | Rep. | 16.7 | 21.1 |
House | Darin LaHood | Rep. | 33.3 | 21.1 |
House | Nancy Mace | Rep. | 33.3 | 21.1 |
House | Kevin McCarthy | Rep. | 0.0 | 21.1 |
House | Burgess Owens | Rep. | 16.7 | 21.1 |
House | Steve Scalise | Rep. | 0.0 | 21.1 |
House | Austin Scott | Rep. | 33.3 | 21.1 |
House | Lloyd Smucker | Rep. | 16.7 | 21.1 |
House | Michelle Steel | Rep. | 16.7 | 21.1 |
House | Elise Stefanik | Rep. | 16.7 | 21.1 |
House | Daniel Webster | Rep. | 16.7 | 21.1 |
House | Bruce Westerman | Rep. | 33.3 | 21.1 |
House | Joe Wilson | Rep. | 0.0 | 21.1 |
House | Robert J. Wittman | Rep. | 16.7 | 21.1 |
House | Claudia Tenney | Rep. | 0.0 | 18.8 |
House | Ken Buck | Rep. | 25.0 | 18.4 |
House | Bob Gibbs | Rep. | 0.0 | 18.4 |
House | Patrick T. McHenry | Rep. | 33.3 | 18.4 |
House | Dan Meuser | Rep. | 16.7 | 18.4 |
House | Greg Pence | Rep. | 16.7 | 18.4 |
House | Chip Roy | Rep. | 50.0 | 18.4 |
House | Glenn W. Thompson | Rep. | 16.7 | 18.4 |
House | Tim Walberg | Rep. | 8.3 | 18.4 |
House | Julia Letlow | Rep. | 0.0 | 18.2 |
House | Jack Bergman | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Buddy Carter | Rep. | 16.7 | 15.8 |
House | Michelle Fischbach | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Chuck Fleischmann | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Virginia Foxx | Rep. | 16.7 | 15.8 |
House | Louie Gohmert | Rep. | 16.7 | 15.8 |
House | Michael Guest | Rep. | 25.0 | 15.8 |
House | Jim Hagedorn | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Fred Keller | Rep. | 16.7 | 15.8 |
House | Mike Kelly | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Debbie Lesko | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Billy Long | Rep. | 8.3 | 15.8 |
House | Frank Lucas | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Brian Mast | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Mary E. Miller | Rep. | 16.7 | 15.8 |
House | Alex Mooney | Rep. | 16.7 | 15.8 |
House | Markwayne Mullin | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Devin Nunes | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Jay Obernolte | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Guy Reschenthaler | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Tom Rice | Rep. | 33.3 | 15.8 |
House | Harold Rogers | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Adrian Smith | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Jason Smith | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Beth Van Duyne | Rep. | 16.7 | 15.8 |
House | Jackie Walorski | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
House | Lee Zeldin | Rep. | 0.0 | 15.8 |
Senate | Ted Cruz | Rep. | 0.0 | 14.3 |
Senate | Cindy Hyde-Smith | Rep. | 0.0 | 14.3 |
Senate | Roger Marshall | Rep. | 0.0 | 14.3 |
Senate | Tommy Tuberville | Rep. | 0.0 | 14.3 |
House | Jodey Arrington | Rep. | 16.7 | 13.2 |
House | Jim Banks | Rep. | 16.7 | 13.2 |
House | Michael Cloud | Rep. | 16.7 | 13.2 |
House | Ron Estes | Rep. | 0.0 | 13.2 |
House | Bob Good | Rep. | 16.7 | 13.2 |
House | Morgan Griffith | Rep. | 0.0 | 13.2 |
House | Vicky Hartzler | Rep. | 0.0 | 13.2 |
House | Yvette Herrell | Rep. | 16.7 | 13.2 |
House | Clay Higgins | Rep. | 16.7 | 13.2 |
House | Mike Johnson | Rep. | 16.7 | 13.2 |
House | Jake LaTurner | Rep. | 8.3 | 13.2 |
House | August Pfluger | Rep. | 16.7 | 13.2 |
House | John Rose | Rep. | 16.7 | 13.2 |
House | Thomas P. Tiffany | Rep. | 16.7 | 13.2 |
House | Randy Weber | Rep. | 16.7 | 13.2 |
House | Jim Baird | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | John Carter | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Ben Cline | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Tom Cole | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Rick Crawford | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Warren Davidson | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Neal Dunn | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Pat Fallon | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Scott Fitzgerald | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | C. Scott Franklin | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Matt Gaetz | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Lance Gooden | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Sam Graves | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Jody Hice | Rep. | 8.3 | 10.5 |
House | John Joyce | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Doug Lamborn | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Blaine Luetkemeyer | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Thomas Massie | Rep. | 33.3 | 10.5 |
House | Lisa C. McClain | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Tom McClintock | Rep. | 33.3 | 10.5 |
House | Carol Miller | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Barry Moore | Rep. | 8.3 | 10.5 |
House | Troy E. Nehls | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Bill Posey | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | John Rutherford | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Pete Sessions | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | William Timmons | Rep. | 0.0 | 10.5 |
House | Brian Babin | Rep. | 0.0 | 7.9 |
House | Lauren Boebert | Rep. | 0.0 | 7.9 |
House | Tim Burchett | Rep. | 0.0 | 7.9 |
House | Scott DesJarlais | Rep. | 8.3 | 7.9 |
House | Andy Harris | Rep. | 8.3 | 7.9 |
House | Ronny Jackson | Rep. | 16.7 | 7.9 |
House | Trent Kelly | Rep. | 0.0 | 7.9 |
House | Robert B. Aderholt | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Rick Allen | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Dan Bishop | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Ted Budd | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Kat Cammack | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Jerry L. Carl | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Madison Cawthorn | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Andrew S. Clyde | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Byron Donalds | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Jeff Duncan | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Mark E. Green | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Marjorie Taylor Greene | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Diana Harshbarger | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Kevin Hern | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Jim Jordan | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Doug LaMalfa | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Barry Loudermilk | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Tracey Mann | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Steven Palazzo | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Gary Palmer | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Scott Perry | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Mike Rogers | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | David Rouzer | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Greg Steube | Rep. | 0.0 | 5.3 |
House | Andy Biggs | Rep. | 0.0 | 2.6 |
House | Mo Brooks | Rep. | 0.0 | 0.0 |
House | Paul A. Gosar | Rep. | 0.0 | 0.0 |
House | Ralph Norman | Rep. | 0.0 | 0.0 |
House | Matthew M. Rosendale | Rep. | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Senate | Josh Hawley | Rep. | 0.0 | 0.0 |
At this point, the core of democracy in the U.S. is not up for debate. “We’re fighting battles today over certain aspects of the democratic process, but not the core of it, for the most part,” Coppedge told me. But the fact that questions of democracy have become so clearly partisan is not good for the future of democracy. And given just how politically divided that fight has already become, it’s more important than ever to track how Congress votes on the matters of democracy that do make it to the floor.
Graphics by Ryan Best and Anna Wiederkehr.