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Special Interest Groups

Interest Group Ratings

Rating Group: American Civil Liberties Union

1997 Positions

State Office District Name Party Rating
AK U.S. House At-Large Don Young Republican 0%
AL U.S. Senate Sr Richard Shelby Republican 33%
AL U.S. Senate Jr Jeff Sessions III Republican 33%
AL U.S. House 4 Robert Aderholt Republican 0%
AL U.S. House 6 Spencer Bachus Republican 0%
AZ U.S. Senate Sr John McCain III Republican 0%
AZ U.S. Senate Jr Jon Kyl Republican 33%
AZ U.S. House 4 Edward Pastor Democratic 100%
CA U.S. Senate Sr Dianne Feinstein Democratic 67%
CA U.S. Senate Jr Barbara Boxer Democratic 67%
CA U.S. House 2 Wally Herger, Jr. Republican 0%
CA U.S. House 6 Lynn Woolsey Democratic 100%
CA U.S. House 7 George Miller Democratic 100%
CA U.S. House 8 Nancy Pelosi Democratic 100%
CA U.S. House 13 Pete Stark Democratic 100%
CA U.S. House 14 Anna Eshoo Democratic 83%
CA U.S. House 16 Zoe Lofgren Democratic 100%
CA U.S. House 17 Sam Farr Democratic 80%
CA U.S. House 24 Elton Gallegly Republican 0%
CA U.S. House 25 Buck McKeon Republican 0%
CA U.S. House 26 David Dreier Republican 0%
CA U.S. House 27 Brad Sherman Democratic 67%
CA U.S. House 28 Howard Berman Democratic 100%
CA U.S. House 30 Henry Waxman Democratic 100%
CA U.S. House 31 Xavier Becerra Democratic 100%
CA U.S. House 34 Lucille Roybal-Allard Democratic 100%
CA U.S. House 35 Maxine Waters Democratic 100%
CA U.S. House 40 Ed Royce Republican 0%
CA U.S. House 41 Jerry Lewis Republican 20%
CA U.S. House 44 Ken Calvert Republican 0%
CA U.S. House 46 Dana Rohrabacher Republican 0%
CA U.S. House 47 Loretta Sanchez Democratic 50%
CA U.S. House 50 Brian Bilbray Republican 17%
CA U.S. House 51 Bob Filner Democratic 80%
CO U.S. House 1 Diana DeGette Democratic 100%
CO State Board of Education 4 Robert Schaffer Republican 17%
CT U.S. Senate Sr Joe Lieberman Independent Democrat 33%
CT U.S. House 3 Rosa DeLauro Democratic 83%
FL U.S. House 3 Corrine Brown Democratic 100%
FL U.S. House 6 Cliff Stearns Republican 0%
FL U.S. House 7 John Mica Republican 0%
FL U.S. House 10 Bill Young Republican 0%
FL U.S. House 18 Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Republican 0%
FL U.S. House 23 Alcee Hastings, Sr. Democratic 100%
FL Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Charles Canady 0%
GA U.S. Senate Sr Saxby Chambliss Republican 0%
GA U.S. House 1 Jack Kingston Republican 0%
GA U.S. House 2 Sanford Bishop, Jr. Democratic 50%
GA U.S. House 5 John Lewis Democratic 100%
GA Governor Nathan Deal Republican 0%
HI U.S. Senate Sr Daniel Inouye Democratic 67%
HI U.S. Senate Jr Daniel Akaka, Sr. Democratic 67%
HI Governor Neil Abercrombie Democratic 83%
IA U.S. Senate Sr Chuck Grassley Republican 33%
IA U.S. Senate Jr Tom Harkin Democratic 67%
IA U.S. House 3 Leonard Boswell Democratic 50%
IA U.S. House 4 Tom Latham Republican 0%
ID U.S. Senate Sr Mike Crapo Republican 0%
IL U.S. Senate Sr Dick Durbin Democratic 67%
IL U.S. House 1 Bobby Rush Democratic 80%
IL U.S. House 2 Jesse Jackson, Jr. Democratic 100%
IL U.S. House 4 Luis Gutierrez Democratic 80%
IL U.S. House 7 Danny Davis Democratic 100%
IL U.S. House 12 Jerry Costello Democratic 20%
IL U.S. House 16 Don Manzullo Republican 0%
IL U.S. House 19 John Shimkus Republican 0%
IN U.S. Senate Sr Dick Lugar Republican 33%
IN U.S. Senate Jr Daniel Coats Republican 33%
IN U.S. House 1 Pete Visclosky Democratic 50%
IN U.S. House 5 Dan Burton Republican 0%
KS U.S. Senate Sr Pat Roberts Republican 33%
KS U.S. Senate Jr Jerry Moran Republican 0%
KS Governor Sam Brownback Republican 33%
KY U.S. Senate Sr Mitch McConnell Republican 33%
KY U.S. House 1 Ed Whitfield Republican 0%
KY U.S. House 5 Hal Rogers Republican 0%
LA U.S. Senate Sr Mary Landrieu Democratic 0%
MA U.S. Senate Sr John Kerry Democratic 67%
MA U.S. House 1 John Olver Democratic 100%
MA U.S. House 2 Richard Neal Democratic 67%
MA U.S. House 3 Jim McGovern Democratic 83%
MA U.S. House 4 Barney Frank Democratic 100%
MA U.S. House 6 John Tierney Democratic 100%
MA U.S. House 7 Ed Markey Democratic 100%
MD U.S. Senate Sr Barbara Mikulski Democratic 67%
MD U.S. Senate Jr Ben Cardin Democratic 83%
MD U.S. House 5 Steny Hoyer Democratic 83%
MD U.S. House 6 Roscoe Bartlett Republican 0%
MD U.S. House 7 Elijah Cummings Democratic 100%
ME U.S. Senate Sr Olympia Snowe Republican 33%
ME U.S. Senate Jr Susan Collins Republican 33%
MI U.S. Senate Sr Carl Levin Democratic 67%
MI U.S. Senate Jr Debbie Stabenow Democratic 50%
MI U.S. House 4 Dave Camp Republican 0%
MI U.S. House 5 Dale Kildee Democratic 17%
MI U.S. House 6 Fred Upton Republican 17%
MI U.S. House 12 Sandy Levin Democratic 100%
MI U.S. House 14 John Conyers, Jr. Democratic 100%
MI U.S. House 15 John Dingell Democratic 67%
MN U.S. House 7 Collin Peterson Democratic/Farmer/Labor 17%
MO U.S. Senate Jr Roy Blunt Republican 0%
MO U.S. House 8 Jo Ann Emerson Republican 0%
MS U.S. Senate Sr Thad Cochran Republican 33%
MS U.S. Senate Jr Roger Wicker Republican 0%
MS U.S. House 2 Bennie Thompson Democratic 83%
MT U.S. Senate Sr Max Baucus Democratic 67%
NA Vice President Joe Biden, Jr. Democratic 33%
NA U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood Republican 0%
NC U.S. Senate Sr Richard Burr Republican 0%
NC U.S. House 3 Walter Jones, Jr. Republican 0%
NC U.S. House 4 David Price Democratic 67%
NC U.S. House 6 Howard Coble Republican 0%
NC U.S. House 7 Mike McIntyre Democratic 17%
NC U.S. House 9 Sue Myrick Republican 0%
NC U.S. House 12 Mel Watt Democratic 100%
ND U.S. Senate Sr Kent Conrad Democratic-NPL 33%
NH U.S. House 2 Charlie Bass Republican 17%
NJ U.S. Senate Sr Frank Lautenberg Democratic 67%
NJ U.S. Senate Jr Bob Menendez Democratic 83%
NJ U.S. House 1 Rob Andrews Democratic 67%
NJ U.S. House 2 Frank LoBiondo Republican 17%
NJ U.S. House 4 Chris Smith Republican 0%
NJ U.S. House 6 Frank Pallone, Jr. Democratic 83%
NJ U.S. House 8 Bill Pascrell, Jr. Democratic 50%
NJ U.S. House 9 Steve Rothman Democratic 67%
NJ U.S. House 11 Rodney Frelinghuysen Republican 17%
NM U.S. Senate Sr Jeff Bingaman Democratic 67%
NV U.S. Senate Sr Harry Reid Democratic 33%
NY U.S. Senate Sr Chuck Schumer Democratic 100%
NY U.S. House 3 Pete King Republican 0%
NY U.S. House 4 Carolyn McCarthy Democratic 83%
NY U.S. House 5 Gary Ackerman Democratic 100%
NY U.S. House 8 Jerry Nadler Democratic 100%
NY U.S. House 10 Ed Towns Democratic 60%
NY U.S. House 12 Nydia Velázquez Democratic 100%
NY U.S. House 14 Carolyn Maloney Democratic 83%
NY U.S. House 15 Charlie Rangel Democratic 100%
NY U.S. House 16 José Serrano Democratic 100%
NY U.S. House 17 Eliot Engel Democratic 83%
NY U.S. House 18 Nita Lowey Democratic 83%
NY U.S. House 22 Maurice Hinchey Democratic 100%
NY U.S. House 28 Louise Slaughter Democratic 100%
OH U.S. Senate Sr Sherrod Brown Democratic 67%
OH U.S. Senate Jr Rob Portman Republican 0%
OH U.S. House 1 Steve Chabot Republican 0%
OH U.S. House 8 John Boehner Republican 0%
OH U.S. House 9 Marcy Kaptur Democratic 60%
OH U.S. House 10 Dennis Kucinich Democratic 50%
OH U.S. House 14 Steve LaTourette Republican 17%
OH Governor John Kasich Republican 0%
OH State Senate 28 Thomas Sawyer Democratic 100%
OH Attorney General Michael DeWine Republican 33%
OK U.S. Senate Sr Jim Inhofe Republican 33%
OK U.S. Senate Jr Thomas Coburn Republican 0%
OK U.S. House 3 Frank Lucas Republican 0%
OR U.S. Senate Sr Ron Wyden Democratic 67%
OR U.S. House 3 Earl Blumenauer Democratic 100%
OR U.S. House 4 Peter DeFazio Democratic 100%
PA U.S. House 2 Chaka Fattah, Sr. Democratic 100%
PA U.S. House 14 Mike Doyle, Jr. Democratic 33%
PA U.S. House 16 Joe Pitts Republican 0%
PA U.S. House 17 Thomas Holden Democratic 17%
RI U.S. Senate Sr Jack Reed Democratic 67%
SC U.S. Senate Sr Lindsey Graham Republican 0%
SC U.S. House 6 Jim Clyburn Democratic 67%
SD U.S. Senate Sr Timothy Johnson Democratic 33%
SD U.S. Senate Jr John Thune Republican 0%
TN U.S. House 2 John Duncan, Jr. Republican 17%
TX U.S. Senate Sr Kay Hutchison Republican 33%
TX U.S. House 3 Sam Johnson Republican 0%
TX U.S. House 4 Ralph Hall Republican 17%
TX U.S. House 6 Joe Barton Republican 0%
TX U.S. House 8 Kevin Brady Republican 0%
TX U.S. House 12 Kay Granger Republican 0%
TX U.S. House 13 Mac Thornberry Republican 17%
TX U.S. House 14 Ron Paul Republican 33%
TX U.S. House 15 Rubén Hinojosa-Flores, Sr. Democratic 33%
TX U.S. House 16 Silvestre Reyes Democratic 33%
TX U.S. House 18 Sheila Jackson Lee Democratic 100%
TX U.S. House 21 Lamar Smith Republican 0%
TX U.S. House 25 Lloyd Doggett Democratic 100%
TX U.S. House 29 Gene Green Democratic 50%
TX U.S. House 30 Eddie Johnson Democratic 83%
TX U.S. House 32 Pete Sessions Republican 0%
UT U.S. Senate Sr Orrin Hatch Republican 33%
VA U.S. House 3 Bobby Scott Democratic 100%
VA U.S. House 6 Bob Goodlatte Republican 0%
VA U.S. House 8 Jim Moran, Jr. Democratic 33%
VA U.S. House 10 Frank Wolf Republican 0%
VT U.S. Senate Sr Patrick Leahy Democratic 0%
VT U.S. Senate Jr Bernie Sanders Independent 100%
WA U.S. Senate Sr Patty Murray Democratic 67%
WA U.S. House 4 Richard Hastings Republican 0%
WA U.S. House 6 Norm Dicks Democratic 83%
WA U.S. House 7 Jim McDermott Democratic 100%
WA U.S. House 9 Adam Smith Democratic 67%
WI U.S. Senate Sr Herb Kohl Democratic 67%
WI U.S. House 3 Ron Kind Democratic 67%
WI U.S. House 5 Jim Sensenbrenner, Jr. Republican 0%
WI U.S. House 6 Tom Petri Republican 17%
WI Mayor At-Large Tom Barrett Democratic 67%
WV U.S. Senate Sr Jay Rockefeller IV Democratic 67%
WV U.S. House 3 Nick Rahall II Democratic 40%
WY U.S. Senate Sr Mike Enzi Republican 33%
Edmond Spencer Abraham 33%
Wayne Allard 33%
Thomas Allen 83%
William Archer 0%
Richard Armey 0%
John Ashcroft 33%
Henry Scott Baesler 33%
Richard Hugh Baker 0%
John Baldacci 80%
Cass Ballenger 0%
James Barcia 17%
Robert Barr, Jr. 0%
William Barrett 0%
Herbert Bateman 0%
Bob Bennett 33%
Kenneth Bentsen, Jr. 67%
Douglas Bereuter 0%
Marion Berry 50%
Michael Bilirakis 0%
Rod Blagojevich 67%
Thomas Bliley, Jr. 0%
Sherwood Boehlert 67%
Kit Bond 33%
Henry Bonilla 0%
David Edward Bonior 83%
Robert Borski, Jr. 50%
Rick Boucher 67%
Allen Boyd, Jr. 33%
Carol Moseley Braun 67%
John Breaux 0%
George Brown, Jr. 100%
Richard Bryan 67%
Ed Bryant 0%
Dale Bumpers 67%
Jim Bunning 0%
Conrad Burns 33%
Steve Buyer 20%
Robert Byrd 33%
Herbert Callahan 0%
Ben Campbell 33%
Thomas Campbell 67%
Chris Cannon 17%
Julia Carson 75%
Mike Castle 33%
John Chafee 67%
Helen Chenoweth 0%
Jon Lynn Christensen 0%
William Clay, Sr. 100%
Eva Clayton 100%
Joseph Maxwell Cleland 67%
Robert Clement 20%
Mac Collins 0%
Larry Combest 0%
Gary Condit 33%
Merrill Cook 0%
John Cooksey 0%
Paul Coverdell 33%
Christopher Cox 0%
William Coyne 100%
Larry Craig 33%
Robert Cramer 33%
Philip Crane 0%
Barbara Cubin 0%
Randall Cunningham 0%
Alfonse D'Amato 33%
Patsy Ann Danner 33%
Thomas Daschle 33%
James Davis 33%
Thomas Davis III 17%
Bill Delahunt 83%
Thomas DeLay 0%
Peter Deutsch 67%
Lincoln Diaz-Balart 0%
Jay Dickey 0%
Julian Dixon 100%
Chris Dodd 67%
Pete Domenici, Jr. 33%
Calvin Dooley 60%
John Doolittle 0%
Byron Dorgan 33%
Jennifer Dunn 0%
Chet Edwards 60%
Vern Ehlers 33%
Bob Ehrlich, Jr. 17%
Philip English 0%
John Ensign 0%
Bob Etheridge 33%
Lane Evans 100%
Terry Everett 0%
Thomas Ewing 0%
Duncan McLauchlin Faircloth 33%
Harris Fawell 17%
Victor Fazio 100%
Russ Feingold 67%
Mark Foley 17%
Michael Patrick Forbes 0%
Harold Ford, Jr. 67%
Wendell Ford 33%
Tillie Fowler 17%
Jon David Fox 0%
Robert Franks 33%
William Frist 33%
Jonas Frost III 67%
Elizabeth Furse 100%
John Ganske 17%
Sam Gejdenson 100%
George Gekas 17%
Richard Andrew Gephardt 67%
Jim Gibbons 17%
Wayne Gilchrest 33%
Paul Gillmor 0%
Benjamin Gilman 50%
Newt Gingrich 0%
John Glenn 67%
Henry Gonzalez 100%
Virgil Goode, Jr. 17%
William Goodling 0%
Bart Gordon 33%
Slade Gorton 33%
Porter Goss 0%
Daniel Graham 67%
William Phillip Gramm 33%
Rodney Grams 33%
James Greenwood 50%
Judd Gregg 33%
Gilbert Gutknecht 0%
Charles Hagel 33%
Tony Hall 20%
Lee Hamilton 33%
James Hansen 0%
Jane Harman 67%
J. Dennis Hastert 0%
J.D. Hayworth, Jr. 0%
Joel Hefley 0%
W.G. Hefner 25%
Jesse Helms 33%
Rick Hill 0%
Van Hilleary 0%
Earl Hilliard, Jr. 75%
David Lee Hobson 17%
Pete Hoekstra 17%
Ernest Hollings 33%
Darlene Hooley 67%
Stephen Horn 50%
John Nathan Hostettler 17%
Amory Houghton, Jr. 17%
Kenny Hulshof 0%
Duncan Hunter 0%
William Hutchinson 17%
Y. Tim Hutchinson 0%
Henry Hyde 0%
Bob Inglis, Sr. 0%
Ernest Istook, Jr. 0%
William Jefferson 67%
James Merrill Jeffords 33%
William Lewis Jenkins 0%
Christopher John 33%
Jay Johnson 33%
Nancy Johnson 33%
Paul Kanjorski 50%
Sue Kelly 17%
Dirk Kempthorne 33%
Edward Kennedy, Sr. 67%
Joseph Kennedy II 83%
Patrick Kennedy 83%
Barbara Bailey Kennelly 83%
Bob Kerrey 67%
Carolyn Kilpatrick 100%
Jay Kim 0%
Gerald Kleczka 67%
Ronald Klink 67%
Scott Klug 17%
Joseph Knollenberg 0%
James Kolbe 50%
John LaFalce 50%
Nicholas Lampson 33%
Tom Lantos 80%
Stephen Largent 0%
Rick Lazio 17%
James Leach 50%
Ron Lewis 0%
John Linder 0%
William Lipinski 17%
Robert Livingston 0%
Trent Lott, Sr. 33%
William Luther 67%
Connie Mack 33%
James Maloney 33%
Thomas Manton 33%
Matthew Martinez 67%
Frank Mascara 50%
Robert Matsui 100%
Karen McCarthy 80%
Bill McCollum 0%
James McCrery III 0%
Joseph McDade 0%
Paul McHale 50%
John McHugh 0%
Scott McInnis 0%
David McIntosh 0%
Cynthia Ann McKinney 100%
Michael McNulty 50%
Martin Meehan 100%
Carrie Meek 100%
Jack Metcalf 0%
Juanita Millender-McDonald 100%
Dan Miller 17%
David Minge 67%
Patsy Takemoto Mink 100%
John Moakley 60%
Alan Mollohan 33%
Constance Morella 83%
Daniel Patrick Moynihan 0%
Frank Murkowski 33%
Jack Murtha 33%
George Nethercutt, Jr. 0%
Mark Neumann 0%
Robert William Ney 17%
Don Nickles 33%
Anne Northup 0%
Charles Norwood, Jr. 0%
James Nussle 0%
Jim Oberstar 67%
Dave Obey 67%
Solomon Ortiz, Sr. 17%
Major Owens 100%
Michael Oxley 20%
Ronald Packard 0%
Michael Pappas 0%
Paul Michael Parker 0%
William Paxon 0%
Donald Payne 100%
Edward Pease 0%
John Peterson 0%
Charles Pickering, Jr. 0%
Owen Pickett 67%
Richard Pombo 0%
Earl Pomeroy 50%
John Edward Porter 40%
Glenn Poshard 33%
Deborah Pryce 17%
Jack Quinn 0%
George Radanovich 0%
James Ramstad 33%
William Redmond 0%
Ralph Regula 17%
Frank Duncan Riggs 17%
Bob Riley 0%
Lynn Nancy Rivers 100%
Charles Robb 67%
Ciro Rodriguez 50%
Timothy Roemer 33%
James Rogan 0%
William Roth, Jr. 33%
Marge Roukema 33%
Jim Ryun 0%
Martin Olav Sabo 100%
Matthew Salmon 0%
Max Sandlin, Jr. 33%
Mark Sanford, Jr. 17%
Rick Santorum 33%
Paul Sarbanes 67%
H. James Saxton 0%
Joe Scarborough 0%
Daniel Schaefer 0%
Steven Schiff 0%
John Shadegg 33%
E. Clay Shaw, Jr. 17%
Christopher Shays 33%
E.G. Shuster 17%
Norman Sisisky 33%
David Skaggs 100%
Joseph Skeen 17%
Ike Skelton 17%
Gordon Smith 33%
Linda Smith 0%
Nick Smith 0%
Robert Smith 0%
Bob Smith 33%
Vincent Snowbarger 0%
Vic Snyder 100%
Gerald B.H. Solomon 0%
Mark Souder 0%
Arlen Specter 0%
Floyd Spence 0%
John Spratt, Jr. 33%
Charles Stenholm 17%
Ted Stevens 33%
Louis Stokes 100%
Ted Strickland 60%
Robert Stump 0%
Bart Stupak 50%
John Sununu 0%
James Talent 0%
John Tanner 50%
Ellen Tauscher 83%
William Tauzin 0%
Charles Taylor 0%
Gene Taylor 17%
Craig Thomas 20%
William Thomas 25%
Fred Thompson 0%
Karen Thurman 83%
Strom Thurmond 33%
Todd Tiahrt 0%
Esteban Edward Torres 80%
Robert Torricelli 67%
James Traficant, Jr. 17%
James Turner 33%
Bruce Vento 100%
James Walsh 0%
Zach Wamp 0%
John Warner 33%
Wesley Watkins 0%
Julius Caesar Watts, Jr. 0%
David Weldon 0%
W. Curtis Weldon 0%
Gerald Weller 0%
Paul Wellstone 67%
Robert Wexler 67%
Robert Weygand 83%
Rick White 17%
Robert Wise, Jr. 80%
Albert Wynn 67%
Sidney Yates 100%

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.

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