Card image cap

Karen Thurman's Ratings and Endorsements

Vote Smart displays all known interest group ratings for each candidate and official, regardless of issue or bias.

Keep in mind that ratings done by special interest groups often do not represent a non-partisan stance. In addition, some groups select votes that tend to favor members of one political party over another, rather than choosing votes based solely on issue concerns. Nevertheless, they can be invaluable in showing where an incumbent has stood on a series of votes in the past one or two years, especially when ratings by groups on all sides of an issue are compared. Website links, if available, and descriptions of the organizations offering performance evaluations are accessible by clicking on the name of the group.

With rare exceptions, Vote Smart displays interest group ratings as a 0-100 percentage. While many interest groups use percentages as ratings to begin with, please note that Vote Smart has translated some ratings to a percentage from a different rating system for consistency and ease in understanding. Please visit the group's website, email us at ratings@votesmart.org or call our Voter Information Hotline at 1-888-VOTESMART for more specific information.

16%
1999-2000
93%
2000
93%
1999
83%
1997
100%
1996
100%
2001
55%
1999
56%
1995-1996
50%
1993-1994
50%
2001-2002
50%
2001-2002
100%
1998
86%
1997
93%
1996
80%
1995
100%
1994
100%
1993
60%
2001-2002
50%
2000
50%
1999
50%
1997
25%
1995-1996
0%
1995
38%
1993-1994
61%
2001
61%
2001
36%
2001
36%
2001
40%
2001
40%
2001
19%
2001
19%
2001
80%
2001
80%
2001
34%
2000
34%
2000
70%
2000
70%
2000
64%
2000
64%
2000
81%
2000
81%
2000
29%
2000
29%
2000
16%
2000
16%
2000
76%
1999
76%
1999
27%
1999
27%
1999
21%
1999
21%
1999
69%
1999
69%
1999
31%
1999
31%
1999
71%
1999
71%
1999
73%
1998
73%
1998
75%
1998
75%
1998
25%
1998
25%
1998
64%
1998
64%
1998
34%
1998
34%
1998
23%
1998
23%
1998
64%
1996
64%
1996
35%
1996
35%
1996
26%
1996
26%
1996
73%
1996
73%
1996
70%
1996
70%
1996
28%
1996
28%
1996
42%
2001-2002
0%
1997-1998
29%
1999-2000
30%
2000
30%
2000
27%
1999
27%
1999
63%
1998
63%
1998
25%
1997
25%
1997
30%
1996
30%
1996
50%
1995
50%
1995
67%
2001-2002
67%
2001-2002
42%
1997-1998
42%
1997-1998
27%
1997
27%
1997
65%
1995-1996
65%
1995-1996
0%
1999-2000
60%
2001-2002
100%
1999
100%
1998
75%
1997
83%
1996
90%
1997-1998
90%
1997-1998
91%
1995-1996
91%
1995-1996
100%
2001
100%
1998
86%
1997
93%
1996
80%
1995
100%
1994
100%
1993
100%
1999-2000
100%
1999-2000
100%
1999
88%
1997-1998
88%
1997-1998
44%
1995-1996
44%
1995-1996
40%
1993-1994
29%
1999-2000
30%
2000
30%
2000
27%
1999
27%
1999
63%
1998
63%
1998
25%
1997
25%
1997
30%
1996
30%
1996
50%
1995
50%
1995
63%
2001
100%
1999
100%
1998
75%
1997
83%
1996
7%
1997-1998
0%
1997
7%
1995-1996
100%
1999-2000
100%
1999-2000
100%
1999
88%
1997-1998
88%
1997-1998
44%
1995-1996
44%
1995-1996
16%
1999-2000
8%
1999-2000
7%
1997-1998
7%
1997-1998
0%
1997
0%
1997
7%
1995-1996
7%
1995-1996
15%
2001
21%
2000
21%
2000
23%
1999
23%
1999
10%
1998
10%
1998
15%
1997
15%
1997
36%
1995-1996
36%
1995-1996
36%
1995-1996
36%
1995-1996
50%
2002
42%
1997-1998
42%
1997-1998
27%
1997
27%
1997
65%
1995-1996
65%
1995-1996
100%
1999
100%
1998
75%
1997
83%
1996
arrow_upward