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Joe May'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.

88%
2011-2012
95%
2012
85%
2005
100%
2002-2003
73%
2000-2001
87%
2000
82%
1999
71%
1998
81%
2013
81%
2013
84%
2012
84%
2012
80%
2012
80%
2012
82%
2012
82%
2012
83%
2012
83%
2012
76%
2012
76%
2012
78
2010
78
2010
75%
2010
75%
2010
71
2010
71
2010
77
2010
77
2010
75
2009
75
2009
81
2009
81
2009
86%
2009
86%
2009
75
2009
75
2009
80
2008
80
2008
74%
2007
74%
2007
85%
2005
85%
2005
68%
2004
68%
2004
69%
2003
69%
2003
94%
2002
94%
2002
73%
2001
73%
2001
87%
2000
87%
2000
83
1999
83
1999
80
1997
80
1997
103%
2004-2005
103%
2004-2005
103%
2004-2005
103%
2004-2005
17%
2012
17%
2012
17%
2010
17%
2010
28%
2010
28%
2010
30%
2009
30%
2009
31
2008
31%
2007
31%
2007
50%
2006
50%
2006
32%
2005
32%
2005
34%
2004
34%
2004
17%
2004
17%
2004
0%
2003
0%
2002
41%
2001
41%
2001
46%
1999
46%
1999
57%
2003
25%
2012
50%
2007
29%
2005
14
2004
100%
2001
100%
2001
88%
2013
100%
2010-2011
100%
2010-2011
100%
2008-2009
100%
2008-2009
95%
2006-2007
95%
2006-2007
88%
2004-2005
88%
2004-2005
79%
2002-2003
79%
2002-2003
61%
2001
61%
2001
76%
1999
76%
1999
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