Originally published April 24, 2023 6:00 pm PDT
The Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) released its 52nd annual Ratings of Congress on Monday, which reveals the most and least conservative members of Congress based on their voting records.
The report, considered the “gold standard” for evaluating political ideology, includes an exhaustive compilation of over 20,000 votes cast by all 535 members of Congress across a full spectrum of policy issues.
CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp stated, “The CPAC team is proud of the 52 consecutive years of rating Members of Congress. Getting beyond what a politician says and looking at how they vote is a needed form of transparency.”
“As America is engaged in an internal struggle for her very survival, talk is cheap. Conservatives are the leaders intellectually and organizationally in the push back against Big corporations, Big tech, Big Media, Big Unions and academia, and our ratings help separate the big talkers from the truly courageous,” he went on to say.
The annual report awards lawmakers with the Award for Conservative Excellence for conservative ratings of 90% or above, and the Award for Conservative Achievement for ratings between 80% and 89%.
Among the Senate members receiving the Award for Conservative Excellence were Mike Lee (R-UT), Mike Braun (R-IN), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Ted Cruz (R-TX).
In the House, members such as Jim Jordan (R-OH), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Thomas Massie (R-KY) were awarded the same distinction.
To determine these ratings, CPAC’s Center for Legislative Accountability analyzed every vote taken during the last session and selected a wide array of issues relating to fiscal, tax, regulatory, education, environment, Second Amendment rights, election security, life, and government integrity.
Lawmakers at both the federal and state levels were scored on a 100-point scale.
Among the lowest-scoring Republican Members of Congress were Fmr. Reps. Adam Kinzinger (29%) and Liz Cheney (54%).
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell received his lowest score, 56%, in his 38 years of service, while Sen. Mitt Romney received a 57% conservative rating.
