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John Kerry's Ratings and Endorsements on Issue: Arts, Entertainment, and History

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.

100%
2002
66%
2012
66%
2012
29%
2012
29%
2012
71%
2012
71%
2012
32%
2012
32%
2012
33%
2012
33%
2012
64%
2012
64%
2012
63%
2012
63%
2012
48%
2011
48%
2011
75%
2011
75%
2011
52%
2011
52%
2011
25%
2011
25%
2011
78%
2011
78%
2011
26%
2011
26%
2011
68%
2011
68%
2011
22%
2011
22%
2011
0%
2010
0%
2010
65%
2010
65%
2010
66%
2010
66%
2010
74%
2010
74%
2010
47%
2010
47%
2010
33%
2010
33%
2010
26%
2010
26%
2010
0%
2009
55%
2009
55%
2009
86%
2009
86%
2009
14%
2009
14%
2009
86%
2009
86%
2009
85%
2009
85%
2009
12%
2009
12%
2009
0%
2009
80%
2008
80%
2008
27%
2008
27%
2008
64%
2008
64%
2008
9%
2008
72%
2008
72%
2008
25.8%
2008
25.8%
2008
74%
2008
74%
2008
35%
2008
35%
2008
24%
2007
24%
2007
85%
2007
85%
2007
72%
2007
72%
2007
79.5%
2007
79.5%
2007
75%
2007
75%
2007
20.5%
2007
20.5%
2007
8%
2007
23%
2007
23%
2007
26%
2006
26%
2006
89%
2006
89%
2006
72%
2006
72%
2006
87%
2006
87%
2006
85.7%
2006
85.7%
2006
14.3%
2006
14.3%
2006
0%
2006
8%
2006
87%
2005
87%
2005
13%
2005
13%
2005
25%
2005
25%
2005
8%
2005
90%
2005
90%
2005
0%
2005
72%
2005
72%
2005
91%
2005
91%
2005
0%
2003
93%
2003
93%
2003
4%
2003
97%
2003
97%
2003
87%
2002
87%
2002
13%
2002
13%
2002
82%
2002
82%
2002
0%
2002
0%
2002
26%
2002
26%
2002
95%
2002
95%
2002
73%
2002
73%
2002
74%
2001
74%
2001
8%
2001
93%
2001
93%
2001
0%
2001
14%
2001
14%
2001
81%
2001
81%
2001
21%
2000
21%
2000
70%
2000
70%
2000
84%
2000
84%
2000
66%
2000
66%
2000
11%
2000
11%
2000
28%
2000
28%
2000
80%
1999
80%
1999
81%
1999
81%
1999
17%
1999
17%
1999
78%
1999
78%
1999
13%
1999
13%
1999
12%
1999
12%
1999
0%
1998
12%
1998
12%
1998
86%
1998
86%
1998
83%
1998
83%
1998
74%
1998
74%
1998
10%
1998
10%
1998
19%
1996
19%
1996
77%
1996
77%
1996
17%
1996
17%
1996
92%
1996
92%
1996
74%
1996
74%
1996
0%
1996
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