Rating Group: Children's Defense Fund

2000 Positions

State Office Name Party Rating
AK U.S. House-At-Large Don Young R 50%
AL U.S. Senate-Sr Richard Shelby R 30%
AL U.S. Senate-Jr Jeff Sessions III R 20%
AL U.S. House-4 Robert Aderholt R 50%
AL U.S. House-6 Spencer Bachus R 50%
AZ U.S. Senate-Sr John McCain III R 10%
AZ U.S. House-7 Ed Pastor D 100%
CA U.S. Senate-Sr Dianne Feinstein D 90%
CA U.S. Senate-Jr Barbara Boxer D 100%
CA U.S. House-5 Mike Thompson D 80%
CA U.S. House-11 George Miller D 90%
CA U.S. House-12 Nancy Pelosi D 100%
CA U.S. House-13 Barbara Lee D 90%
CA U.S. House-18 Anna Eshoo D 80%
CA U.S. House-19 Zoe Lofgren D 80%
CA U.S. House-20 Sam Farr D 90%
CA U.S. House-24 Lois Capps D 90%
CA U.S. House-25 Buck McKeon R 50%
CA U.S. House-30 Brad Sherman D 90%
CA U.S. House-31 Gary Miller R 30%
CA U.S. House-32 Grace Napolitano D 100%
CA U.S. House-33 Henry Waxman D 100%
CA U.S. House-34 Xavier Becerra D 100%
CA U.S. House-39 Ed Royce R 40%
CA U.S. House-40 Lucille Roybal-Allard D 80%
CA U.S. House-42 Ken Calvert R 50%
CA U.S. House-43 Maxine Waters D 80%
CA U.S. House-46 Loretta Sanchez D 80%
CA U.S. House-48 Dana Rohrabacher R 40%
CA Mayor-At-Large Bob Filner D 100%
CO U.S. Senate-Sr Mark Udall D 90%
CO U.S. House-1 Diana DeGette D 100%
CO State Board of Education-4 Robert Schaffer R 50%
CT U.S. House-1 John Larson D 90%
CT U.S. House-3 Rosa DeLauro D 100%
FL U.S. House-5 Corrine Brown D 80%
FL U.S. House-7 John Mica R 40%
FL U.S. House-13 Bill Young R 50%
FL U.S. House-20 Alcee Hastings, Sr. D 80%
FL U.S. House-27 Ileana Ros-Lehtinen R 60%
GA U.S. Senate-Sr Saxby Chambliss R 30%
GA U.S. Senate-Jr Johnny Isakson R 50%
GA U.S. House-1 Jack Kingston R 50%
GA U.S. House-2 Sanford Bishop, Jr. D 70%
GA U.S. House-5 John Lewis D 90%
GA Governor Nathan Deal R 50%
HI Governor Neil Abercrombie D 90%
IA U.S. Senate-Sr Chuck Grassley R 30%
IA U.S. Senate-Jr Tom Harkin D 100%
IA U.S. House-3 Tom Latham R 50%
ID U.S. Senate-Sr Mike Crapo R 30%
ID U.S. House-2 Mike Simpson R 40%
IL U.S. Senate-Sr Dick Durbin D 100%
IL U.S. House-1 Bobby Rush D 90%
IL U.S. House-4 Luis Gutierrez D 100%
IL U.S. House-7 Danny Davis D 90%
IL U.S. House-9 Jan Schakowsky D 100%
IL U.S. House-15 John Shimkus R 50%
IN U.S. House-1 Pete Visclosky D 100%
KS U.S. Senate-Sr Pat Roberts R 30%
KS U.S. Senate-Jr Jerry Moran R 40%
KS Governor Sam Brownback R 30%
KY U.S. Senate-Sr Mitch McConnell R 30%
KY U.S. House-1 Ed Whitfield R 60%
KY U.S. House-5 Hal Rogers R 50%
KY Commissioner of the Department of Veterans' Affairs Kenneth Lucas D 60%
LA U.S. Senate-Sr Mary Landrieu D 90%
LA U.S. Senate-Jr David Vitter R 40%
MA U.S. House-1 Richard Neal D 90%
MA U.S. House-2 Jim McGovern D 90%
MA U.S. House-5 Ed Markey D 70%
MA U.S. House-6 John Tierney D 100%
MA U.S. House-7 Mike Capuano D 100%
MD U.S. Senate-Sr Barbara Mikulski D 100%
MD U.S. Senate-Jr Ben Cardin D 90%
MD U.S. House-5 Steny Hoyer D 90%
MD U.S. House-7 Elijah Cummings D 80%
ME U.S. Senate-Sr Susan Collins R 60%
MI U.S. Senate-Sr Carl Levin D 100%
MI U.S. House-4 Dave Camp R 60%
MI U.S. House-6 Fred Upton R 70%
MI U.S. House-9 Sandy Levin D 100%
MI U.S. House-12 John Dingell D 90%
MI U.S. House-13 John Conyers, Jr. D 80%
MN U.S. House-7 Collin Peterson DFL 70%
MO U.S. Senate-Jr Roy Blunt R 40%
MO U.S. House-1 Lacy Clay, Jr. D 70%
MS U.S. Senate-Sr Thad Cochran R 30%
MS U.S. Senate-Jr Roger Wicker R 50%
MS U.S. House-2 Bennie Thompson D 90%
MT U.S. Senate-Sr Max Baucus D 100%
NA Vice President Joe Biden, Jr. D 100%
NA U.S. Secretary of Defense Charles Hagel R 30%
NA U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry D 90%
NC U.S. Senate-Sr Richard Burr R 40%
NC U.S. House-3 Walter Jones, Jr. R 30%
NC U.S. House-4 David Price D 90%
NC U.S. House-6 Howard Coble R 40%
NC U.S. House-7 Mike McIntyre D 70%
NC U.S. House-12 Mel Watt D 80%
NE U.S. House-2 Lee Terry R 40%
NJ U.S. Senate-Sr Bob Menendez D 100%
NJ U.S. House-1 Rob Andrews D 80%
NJ U.S. House-2 Frank LoBiondo R 70%
NJ U.S. House-4 Chris Smith R 80%
NJ U.S. House-6 Frank Pallone, Jr. D 90%
NJ U.S. House-9 Bill Pascrell, Jr. D 90%
NJ U.S. House-11 Rodney Frelinghuysen R 70%
NJ U.S. House-12 Rush Holt, Jr. D 90%
NM U.S. Senate-Sr Thomas Udall D 100%
NV U.S. Senate-Sr Harry Reid D 100%
NY U.S. Senate-Sr Chuck Schumer D 100%
NY U.S. House-2 Pete King R 70%
NY U.S. House-4 Carolyn McCarthy D 80%
NY U.S. House-5 Gregory Meeks D 80%
NY U.S. House-7 Nydia Velázquez D 90%
NY U.S. House-10 Jerry Nadler D 100%
NY U.S. House-12 Carolyn Maloney D 100%
NY U.S. House-13 Charlie Rangel D 80%
NY U.S. House-14 Joe Crowley D 100%
NY U.S. House-15 José Serrano D 80%
NY U.S. House-16 Eliot Engel D 90%
NY U.S. House-17 Nita Lowey D 100%
NY U.S. House-25 Louise Slaughter D 90%
OH U.S. Senate-Sr Sherrod Brown D 80%
OH U.S. Senate-Jr Rob Portman R 40%
OH U.S. House-1 Steve Chabot R 50%
OH U.S. House-8 John Boehner R 40%
OH U.S. House-9 Marcy Kaptur D 90%
OH State Senate-28 Thomas Sawyer D 90%
OH Attorney General Michael DeWine R 40%
OK U.S. Senate-Sr Jim Inhofe R 10%
OK U.S. House-3 Frank Lucas R 50%
OR U.S. Senate-Sr Ron Wyden D 90%
OR U.S. House-2 Greg Walden R 40%
OR U.S. House-3 Earl Blumenauer D 90%
OR U.S. House-4 Peter DeFazio D 90%
PA U.S. Senate-Jr Pat Toomey R 40%
PA U.S. House-1 Bob Brady D 100%
PA U.S. House-2 Chaka Fattah, Sr. D 80%
PA U.S. House-14 Mike Doyle, Jr. D 90%
PA U.S. House-16 Joe Pitts R 40%
PA Commissioner-At-Large Joseph Hoeffel Other 100%
RI U.S. Senate-Sr Jack Reed D 100%
RI Governor Linc Chafee I 100%
SC U.S. Senate-Sr Lindsey Graham R 20%
SC U.S. House-6 Jim Clyburn D 80%
SD U.S. Senate-Sr Timothy Johnson D 100%
SD U.S. Senate-Jr John Thune R 60%
TN U.S. House-2 John Duncan, Jr. R 50%
TX U.S. House-3 Sam Johnson R 40%
TX U.S. House-4 Ralph Hall R 60%
TX U.S. House-6 Joe Barton R 30%
TX U.S. House-8 Kevin Brady R 40%
TX U.S. House-12 Kay Granger R 50%
TX U.S. House-13 Mac Thornberry R 40%
TX U.S. House-15 Rubén Hinojosa, Sr. D 80%
TX U.S. House-18 Sheila Jackson Lee D 80%
TX U.S. House-21 Lamar Smith R 40%
TX U.S. House-29 Gene Green D 80%
TX U.S. House-30 Eddie Johnson D 70%
TX U.S. House-32 Pete Sessions R 40%
TX U.S. House-35 Lloyd Doggett D 90%
UT U.S. Senate-Sr Orrin Hatch R 30%
VA U.S. House-3 Bobby Scott D 70%
VA U.S. House-6 Bob Goodlatte R 40%
VA U.S. House-8 Jim Moran, Jr. D 80%
VA U.S. House-10 Frank Wolf R 50%
VT U.S. Senate-Sr Patrick Leahy D 100%
VT U.S. Senate-Jr Bernie Sanders I 100%
WA U.S. Senate-Sr Patty Murray D 80%
WA U.S. House-4 Doc Hastings R 40%
WA U.S. House-7 Jim McDermott D 80%
WA U.S. House-9 Adam Smith D 70%
WA Governor Jay Inslee D 80%
WI U.S. Senate-Jr Tammy Baldwin D 100%
WI U.S. House-1 Paul Ryan R 50%
WI U.S. House-3 Ron Kind D 90%
WI U.S. House-5 Jim Sensenbrenner, Jr. R 40%
WI U.S. House-6 Tom Petri R 50%
WI Mayor-At-Large Tom Barrett D 100%
WV U.S. Senate-Sr Jay Rockefeller IV D 100%
WV U.S. House-3 Nick Rahall II D 80%
WY U.S. Senate-Sr Mike Enzi R 20%
Gary Ackerman Other 90%
Daniel Akaka, Sr. Other 100%
Wayne Allard Other 30%
Thomas Allen Other 90%
Richard Armey Other 40%
Joe Baca, Sr. Other 70%
Brian Baird Other 80%
Richard Hugh Baker Other 40%
John Baldacci Other 90%
Cass Ballenger Other 40%
James Barcia Other 70%
Robert Barr, Jr. Other 40%
Roscoe Bartlett Other 40%
Charlie Bass Other 40%
Evan Bayh Other 100%
Bob Bennett Other 30%
Kenneth Bentsen, Jr. Other 90%
Douglas Bereuter Other 50%
Shelley Berkley Other 90%
Howard Berman Other 100%
Marion Berry Other 70%
Judy Biggert Other 50%
Michael Bilirakis Other 50%
Jeff Bingaman Other 100%
Rod Blagojevich Other 90%
Sherwood Boehlert Other 70%
Kit Bond Other 20%
Henry Bonilla Other 50%
David Edward Bonior Other 100%
Mary Bono Mack Other 40%
Robert Borski, Jr. Other 90%
Leonard Boswell Other 70%
Rick Boucher Other 70%
Allen Boyd, Jr. Other 60%
John Breaux Other 90%
Ed Bryant Other 50%
Jim Bunning Other 20%
Conrad Burns Other 30%
Dan Burton Other 30%
Steve Buyer Other 40%
Robert Byrd Other 100%
Herbert Callahan Other 50%
Ben Campbell Other 30%
Chris Cannon Other 30%
Julia Carson Other 90%
Mike Castle Other 70%
Eva Clayton Other 80%
Joseph Maxwell Cleland Other 90%
Robert Clement Other 70%
Michael Collins Other 40%
Larry Combest Other 40%
Gary Condit Other 80%
Kent Conrad Other 100%
John Cooksey Other 50%
Jerry Costello Other 80%
Christopher Cox Other 40%
William Coyne Other 100%
Larry Craig Other 20%
Robert Cramer Other 70%
Philip Crane Other 40%
Barbara Cubin Other 40%
Randall Cunningham Other 50%
Thomas Daschle Other 90%
James Davis Other 90%
Thomas Davis III Other 60%
Bill Delahunt Other 90%
Thomas DeLay Other 40%
James DeMint Other 30%
Peter Deutsch Other 80%
Lincoln Diaz-Balart Other 60%
Norm Dicks Other 90%
Chris Dodd Other 100%
Pete Domenici, Jr. Other 30%
Calvin Dooley Other 90%
John Doolittle Other 40%
Byron Dorgan Other 100%
David Dreier Other 40%
Jennifer Dunn Other 60%
John Edwards Other 100%
Chet Edwards Other 90%
Vern Ehlers Other 70%
Bob Ehrlich, Jr. Other 40%
Jo Ann Emerson Other 40%
Philip English Other 70%
Bob Etheridge Other 80%
Lane Evans Other 100%
Terry Everett Other 30%
Russ Feingold Other 100%
Peter Fitzgerald Other 40%
Ernest Fletcher Other 50%
Mark Foley Other 60%
Harold Ford, Jr. Other 90%
Vito Fossella, Jr. Other 60%
Barney Frank Other 90%
William Frist Other 30%
Jonas Frost III Other 90%
Elton Gallegly Other 50%
John Ganske Other 60%
George Gekas Other 40%
Richard Andrew Gephardt Other 90%
Jim Gibbons Other 50%
Wayne Gilchrest Other 70%
Paul Gillmor Other 40%
Benjamin Gilman Other 60%
Charlie Gonzalez Other 90%
Virgil Goode, Jr. Other 40%
Bart Gordon Other 60%
Porter Goss Other 50%
Daniel Graham Other 100%
William Phillip Gramm Other 20%
Mark Green Other 50%
James Greenwood Other 70%
Judd Gregg Other 20%
Gilbert Gutknecht Other 50%
Tony Hall Other 90%
James Hansen Other 40%
J. Dennis Hastert Other 20%
Robert Hayes Other 50%
J.D. Hayworth, Jr. Other 40%
Joel Hefley Other 50%
Jesse Helms Other 10%
Wally Herger, Jr. Other 40%
Baron Hill Other 80%
Van Hilleary Other 50%
Earl Hilliard, Jr. Other 90%
Maurice Hinchey Other 100%
David Lee Hobson Other 60%
Pete Hoekstra Other 40%
Thomas Holden Other 80%
Ernest Hollings Other 100%
Darlene Hooley Other 80%
Stephen Horn Other 60%
John Nathan Hostettler Other 20%
Amory Houghton, Jr. Other 70%
Kenny Hulshof Other 40%
Duncan Hunter Other 40%
Asa Hutchinson Other 50%
Y. Tim Hutchinson Other 30%
Kay Hutchison Other 30%
Henry Hyde Other 70%
Daniel Inouye Other 60%
Ernest Istook, Jr. Other 40%
Jesse Jackson, Jr. Other 80%
William Jefferson Other 70%
James Merrill Jeffords Other 90%
William Lewis Jenkins Other 40%
Christopher John Other 60%
Nancy Johnson Other 70%
Paul Kanjorski Other 80%
Sue Kelly Other 40%
Edward Kennedy, Sr. Other 100%
Patrick Kennedy Other 100%
Dale Kildee Other 100%
Carolyn Kilpatrick Other 90%
Gerald Kleczka Other 90%
Joseph Knollenberg Other 50%
Herb Kohl Other 100%
James Kolbe Other 50%
Dennis Kucinich Other 90%
Jon Kyl Other 30%
John LaFalce Other 100%
Ray LaHood Other 60%
Nicholas Lampson Other 70%
Tom Lantos Other 90%
Stephen Largent Other 40%
Steve LaTourette Other 50%
James Leach Other 70%
Jerry Lewis Other 50%
Ron Lewis Other 50%
Joe Lieberman Other 100%
Blanche Lincoln Other 90%
John Linder Other 50%
William Lipinski Other 80%
Trent Lott, Sr. Other 30%
Dick Lugar Other 40%
William Luther Other 100%
James Maloney Other 70%
Don Manzullo Other 30%
Frank Mascara Other 80%
Robert Matsui Other 90%
Karen McCarthy Other 90%
James McCrery III Other 50%
John McHugh Other 70%
Scott McInnis Other 40%
Cynthia Ann McKinney Other 90%
Michael McNulty Other 90%
Martin Meehan Other 100%
Carrie Meek Other 90%
Juanita Millender-McDonald Other 100%
Dan Miller Other 40%
Patsy Takemoto Mink Other 90%
John Moakley Other 90%
Alan Mollohan Other 70%
Dennis Moore Other 80%
Constance Morella Other 80%
Frank Murkowski Other 30%
Jack Murtha Other 80%
Sue Myrick Other 40%
George Nethercutt, Jr. Other 40%
Robert William Ney Other 60%
Don Nickles Other 10%
Anne Northup Other 60%
Charles Norwood, Jr. Other 40%
James Nussle Other 50%
Jim Oberstar Other 100%
Dave Obey Other 100%
John Olver Other 100%
Solomon Ortiz, Sr. Other 80%
Doug Ose Other 50%
Major Owens Other 90%
Michael Oxley Other 40%
Ron Paul Other 0%
Donald Payne Other 80%
John Peterson Other 50%
David Phelps Other 80%
Charles Pickering, Jr. Other 40%
Richard Pombo Other 50%
Earl Pomeroy Other 100%
Deborah Pryce Other 60%
Jack Quinn Other 80%
George Radanovich Other 30%
James Ramstad Other 60%
Ralph Regula Other 60%
Silvestre Reyes Other 90%
Thomas Reynolds Other 50%
Bob Riley Other 40%
Lynn Nancy Rivers Other 80%
Ciro Rodriguez Other 90%
Timothy Roemer Other 90%
Steve Rothman Other 90%
Marge Roukema Other 60%
Jim Ryun Other 40%
Martin Olav Sabo Other 100%
Max Sandlin, Jr. Other 60%
Rick Santorum Other 30%
Paul Sarbanes Other 100%
Jim Saxton Other 60%
Joe Scarborough Other 40%
John Shadegg Other 30%
E. Clay Shaw, Jr. Other 50%
Christopher Shays Other 80%
Donald Sherwood Other 60%
Ronnie Shows Other 70%
Joseph Skeen Other 50%
Ike Skelton Other 70%
Gordon Smith Other 50%
Nick Smith Other 30%
Bob Smith Other 0%
Olympia Snowe Other 80%
Vic Snyder Other 90%
Mark Souder Other 40%
Arlen Specter Other 50%
Floyd Spence Other 50%
John Spratt, Jr. Other 90%
Pete Stark Other 100%
Cliff Stearns Other 40%
Charles Stenholm Other 70%
Ted Stevens Other 30%
Ted Strickland Other 90%
Bob Stump Other 40%
Bart Stupak Other 100%
John Sununu Other 40%
John Sweeney Other 50%
Tom Tancredo Other 50%
John Tanner Other 70%
Ellen Tauscher Other 80%
William Tauzin Other 40%
Charles Taylor Other 40%
Gene Taylor Other 70%
Craig Thomas Other 10%
William Thomas Other 50%
Fred Thompson Other 0%
Karen Thurman Other 90%
Strom Thurmond Other 30%
Todd Tiahrt Other 30%
Robert Torricelli Other 90%
Ed Towns Other 80%
James Traficant, Jr. Other 60%
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Other 70%
James Turner Other 70%
George Voinovich Other 10%
James Walsh Other 70%
Zach Wamp Other 40%
John Warner Other 30%
Wesley Watkins Other 40%
Julius Caesar Watts, Jr. Other 40%
Anthony Weiner Other 100%
David Weldon Other 40%
W. Curtis Weldon Other 50%
Gerald Weller Other 70%
Paul Wellstone Other 100%
Robert Wexler Other 90%
Heather Wilson Other 80%
Lynn Woolsey Other 100%
David Wu Other 90%
Albert Wynn Other 60%

How to Interpret these Evaluations

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 issues 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.

Most performance evaluations are displayed in a percentage format. However, some organizations present their ratings in the form of a letter grade or endorsement based on voting records, interviews, survey results and/or sources of campaign funding. For consistency and ease in understanding, Project Vote Smart converts all scores into a percentage when possible. Please visit the group's website or call 1-888-VOTESMART for more specific information.