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Special Interest Groups

Interest Group Ratings

Rating Group: National Taxpayers Union

1997 Spending Score

State Office District Name Party Rating
AK U.S. House At-Large Don Young Republican 56%
AL U.S. Senate Sr Richard Shelby Republican 79%
AL U.S. Senate Jr Jeff Sessions III Republican 85%
AL U.S. House 4 Robert Aderholt Republican 57%
AL U.S. House 6 Spencer Bachus Republican 57%
AZ U.S. Senate Sr John McCain III Republican 82%
AZ U.S. Senate Jr Jon Kyl Republican 87%
AZ U.S. House 4 Edward Pastor Democratic 21%
CA U.S. Senate Sr Dianne Feinstein Democratic 32%
CA U.S. Senate Jr Barbara Boxer Democratic 14%
CA U.S. House 2 Wally Herger, Jr. Republican 64%
CA U.S. House 6 Lynn Woolsey Democratic 30%
CA U.S. House 7 George Miller Democratic 25%
CA U.S. House 8 Nancy Pelosi Democratic 26%
CA U.S. House 13 Pete Stark Democratic 23%
CA U.S. House 14 Anna Eshoo Democratic 36%
CA U.S. House 16 Zoe Lofgren Democratic 31%
CA U.S. House 17 Sam Farr Democratic 25%
CA U.S. House 24 Elton Gallegly Republican 46%
CA U.S. House 25 Buck McKeon Republican 54%
CA U.S. House 26 David Dreier Republican 54%
CA U.S. House 27 Brad Sherman Democratic 40%
CA U.S. House 28 Howard Berman Democratic 27%
CA U.S. House 30 Henry Waxman Democratic 28%
CA U.S. House 31 Xavier Becerra Democratic 28%
CA U.S. House 34 Lucille Roybal-Allard Democratic 22%
CA U.S. House 35 Maxine Waters Democratic 21%
CA U.S. House 40 Ed Royce Republican 85%
CA U.S. House 41 Jerry Lewis Republican 43%
CA U.S. House 44 Ken Calvert Republican 50%
CA U.S. House 46 Dana Rohrabacher Republican 78%
CA U.S. House 47 Loretta Sanchez Democratic 42%
CA U.S. House 50 Brian Bilbray Republican 53%
CA U.S. House 51 Bob Filner Democratic 23%
CO U.S. House 1 Diana DeGette Democratic 30%
CO State Board of Education 4 Robert Schaffer Republican 69%
CT U.S. Senate Sr Joe Lieberman Independent Democrat 34%
CT U.S. House 3 Rosa DeLauro Democratic 28%
FL U.S. House 3 Corrine Brown Democratic 16%
FL U.S. House 6 Cliff Stearns Republican 59%
FL U.S. House 7 John Mica Republican 56%
FL U.S. House 10 Bill Young Republican 44%
FL U.S. House 18 Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Republican 48%
FL U.S. House 23 Alcee Hastings, Sr. Democratic 17%
FL Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Charles Canady 54%
GA U.S. Senate Sr Saxby Chambliss Republican 55%
GA U.S. House 1 Jack Kingston Republican 66%
GA U.S. House 2 Sanford Bishop, Jr. Democratic 26%
GA U.S. House 5 John Lewis Democratic 24%
GA Governor Nathan Deal Republican 62%
HI U.S. Senate Sr Daniel Inouye Democratic 13%
HI U.S. Senate Jr Daniel Akaka, Sr. Democratic 12%
HI Governor Neil Abercrombie Democratic 23%
IA U.S. Senate Sr Chuck Grassley Republican 75%
IA U.S. Senate Jr Tom Harkin Democratic 29%
IA U.S. House 3 Leonard Boswell Democratic 34%
IA U.S. House 4 Tom Latham Republican 53%
ID U.S. Senate Sr Mike Crapo Republican 58%
IL U.S. Senate Sr Dick Durbin Democratic 17%
IL U.S. House 1 Bobby Rush Democratic 23%
IL U.S. House 2 Jesse Jackson, Jr. Democratic 24%
IL U.S. House 4 Luis Gutierrez Democratic 29%
IL U.S. House 7 Danny Davis Democratic 23%
IL U.S. House 12 Jerry Costello Democratic 31%
IL U.S. House 16 Don Manzullo Republican 64%
IL U.S. House 19 John Shimkus Republican 49%
IN U.S. Senate Sr Dick Lugar Republican 67%
IN U.S. Senate Jr Daniel Coats Republican 78%
IN U.S. House 1 Pete Visclosky Democratic 36%
IN U.S. House 5 Dan Burton Republican 64%
KS U.S. Senate Sr Pat Roberts Republican 71%
KS U.S. Senate Jr Jerry Moran Republican 52%
KS Governor Sam Brownback Republican 84%
KY U.S. Senate Sr Mitch McConnell Republican 84%
KY U.S. House 1 Ed Whitfield Republican 56%
KY U.S. House 5 Hal Rogers Republican 44%
LA U.S. Senate Sr Mary Landrieu Democratic 39%
MA U.S. Senate Sr John Kerry Democratic 16%
MA U.S. House 1 John Olver Democratic 28%
MA U.S. House 2 Richard Neal Democratic 32%
MA U.S. House 3 Jim McGovern Democratic 26%
MA U.S. House 4 Barney Frank Democratic 27%
MA U.S. House 6 John Tierney Democratic 28%
MA U.S. House 7 Ed Markey Democratic 30%
MD U.S. Senate Sr Barbara Mikulski Democratic 18%
MD U.S. Senate Jr Ben Cardin Democratic 30%
MD U.S. House 5 Steny Hoyer Democratic 23%
MD U.S. House 6 Roscoe Bartlett Republican 64%
MD U.S. House 7 Elijah Cummings Democratic 29%
ME U.S. Senate Sr Olympia Snowe Republican 61%
ME U.S. Senate Jr Susan Collins Republican 62%
MI U.S. Senate Sr Carl Levin Democratic 13%
MI U.S. Senate Jr Debbie Stabenow Democratic 33%
MI U.S. House 4 Dave Camp Republican 58%
MI U.S. House 5 Dale Kildee Democratic 26%
MI U.S. House 6 Fred Upton Republican 67%
MI U.S. House 12 Sandy Levin Democratic 33%
MI U.S. House 14 John Conyers, Jr. Democratic 27%
MI U.S. House 15 John Dingell Democratic 29%
MN U.S. House 7 Collin Peterson Democratic/Farmer/Labor 44%
MO U.S. Senate Jr Roy Blunt Republican 57%
MO U.S. House 8 Jo Ann Emerson Republican 52%
MS U.S. Senate Sr Thad Cochran Republican 68%
MS U.S. Senate Jr Roger Wicker Republican 46%
MS U.S. House 2 Bennie Thompson Democratic 16%
MT U.S. Senate Sr Max Baucus Democratic 48%
NA Vice President Joe Biden, Jr. Democratic 34%
NA U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood Republican 45%
NC U.S. Senate Sr Richard Burr Republican 59%
NC U.S. House 3 Walter Jones, Jr. Republican 67%
NC U.S. House 4 David Price Democratic 25%
NC U.S. House 6 Howard Coble Republican 66%
NC U.S. House 7 Mike McIntyre Democratic 38%
NC U.S. House 9 Sue Myrick Republican 66%
NC U.S. House 12 Mel Watt Democratic 21%
ND U.S. Senate Sr Kent Conrad Democratic-NPL 31%
NH U.S. House 2 Charlie Bass Republican 62%
NJ U.S. Senate Sr Frank Lautenberg Democratic 20%
NJ U.S. Senate Jr Bob Menendez Democratic 27%
NJ U.S. House 1 Rob Andrews Democratic 38%
NJ U.S. House 2 Frank LoBiondo Republican 61%
NJ U.S. House 4 Chris Smith Republican 47%
NJ U.S. House 6 Frank Pallone, Jr. Democratic 34%
NJ U.S. House 8 Bill Pascrell, Jr. Democratic 31%
NJ U.S. House 9 Steve Rothman Democratic 27%
NJ U.S. House 11 Rodney Frelinghuysen Republican 48%
NM U.S. Senate Sr Jeff Bingaman Democratic 23%
NV U.S. Senate Sr Harry Reid Democratic 21%
NY U.S. Senate Sr Chuck Schumer Democratic 32%
NY U.S. House 3 Pete King Republican 36%
NY U.S. House 4 Carolyn McCarthy Democratic 35%
NY U.S. House 5 Gary Ackerman Democratic 27%
NY U.S. House 8 Jerry Nadler Democratic 25%
NY U.S. House 10 Ed Towns Democratic 20%
NY U.S. House 12 Nydia Velázquez Democratic 25%
NY U.S. House 14 Carolyn Maloney Democratic 31%
NY U.S. House 15 Charlie Rangel Democratic 21%
NY U.S. House 16 José Serrano Democratic 20%
NY U.S. House 17 Eliot Engel Democratic 22%
NY U.S. House 18 Nita Lowey Democratic 36%
NY U.S. House 22 Maurice Hinchey Democratic 27%
NY U.S. House 28 Louise Slaughter Democratic 25%
OH U.S. Senate Sr Sherrod Brown Democratic 37%
OH U.S. Senate Jr Rob Portman Republican 56%
OH U.S. House 1 Steve Chabot Republican 74%
OH U.S. House 8 John Boehner Republican 55%
OH U.S. House 9 Marcy Kaptur Democratic 16%
OH U.S. House 10 Dennis Kucinich Democratic 32%
OH U.S. House 14 Steve LaTourette Republican 43%
OH Governor John Kasich Republican 58%
OH State Senate 28 Thomas Sawyer Democratic 27%
OH Attorney General Michael DeWine Republican 67%
OK U.S. Senate Sr Jim Inhofe Republican 81%
OK U.S. Senate Jr Thomas Coburn Republican 69%
OK U.S. House 3 Frank Lucas Republican 52%
OR U.S. Senate Sr Ron Wyden Democratic 34%
OR U.S. House 3 Earl Blumenauer Democratic 28%
OR U.S. House 4 Peter DeFazio Democratic 40%
PA U.S. House 2 Chaka Fattah, Sr. Democratic 31%
PA U.S. House 14 Mike Doyle, Jr. Democratic 40%
PA U.S. House 16 Joe Pitts Republican 57%
PA U.S. House 17 Thomas Holden Democratic 29%
RI U.S. Senate Sr Jack Reed Democratic 12%
SC U.S. Senate Sr Lindsey Graham Republican 65%
SC U.S. House 6 Jim Clyburn Democratic 19%
SD U.S. Senate Sr Timothy Johnson Democratic 19%
SD U.S. Senate Jr John Thune Republican 54%
TN U.S. House 2 John Duncan, Jr. Republican 75%
TX U.S. Senate Sr Kay Hutchison Republican 84%
TX U.S. House 3 Sam Johnson Republican 65%
TX U.S. House 4 Ralph Hall Republican 53%
TX U.S. House 6 Joe Barton Republican 61%
TX U.S. House 8 Kevin Brady Republican 64%
TX U.S. House 12 Kay Granger Republican 51%
TX U.S. House 13 Mac Thornberry Republican 64%
TX U.S. House 14 Ron Paul Republican 78%
TX U.S. House 15 Rubén Hinojosa-Flores, Sr. Democratic 25%
TX U.S. House 16 Silvestre Reyes Democratic 24%
TX U.S. House 18 Sheila Jackson Lee Democratic 24%
TX U.S. House 21 Lamar Smith Republican 55%
TX U.S. House 25 Lloyd Doggett Democratic 42%
TX U.S. House 29 Gene Green Democratic 28%
TX U.S. House 30 Eddie Johnson Democratic 18%
TX U.S. House 32 Pete Sessions Republican 62%
UT U.S. Senate Sr Orrin Hatch Republican 70%
VA U.S. House 3 Bobby Scott Democratic 14%
VA U.S. House 6 Bob Goodlatte Republican 61%
VA U.S. House 8 Jim Moran, Jr. Democratic 34%
VA U.S. House 10 Frank Wolf Republican 49%
VT U.S. Senate Sr Patrick Leahy Democratic 26%
VT U.S. Senate Jr Bernie Sanders Independent 29%
WA U.S. Senate Sr Patty Murray Democratic 14%
WA U.S. House 4 Richard Hastings Republican 57%
WA U.S. House 6 Norm Dicks Democratic 27%
WA U.S. House 7 Jim McDermott Democratic 23%
WA U.S. House 9 Adam Smith Democratic 32%
WI U.S. Senate Sr Herb Kohl Democratic 56%
WI U.S. House 3 Ron Kind Democratic 42%
WI U.S. House 5 Jim Sensenbrenner, Jr. Republican 84%
WI U.S. House 6 Tom Petri Republican 76%
WI Mayor At-Large Tom Barrett Democratic 43%
WV U.S. Senate Sr Jay Rockefeller IV Democratic 26%
WV U.S. House 3 Nick Rahall II Democratic 16%
WY U.S. Senate Sr Mike Enzi Republican 81%
Edmond Spencer Abraham 80%
Wayne Allard 81%
Thomas Allen 28%
William Archer 55%
Richard Armey 60%
John Ashcroft 85%
Henry Scott Baesler 28%
Richard Hugh Baker 47%
John Baldacci 33%
Cass Ballenger 58%
James Barcia 39%
Robert Barr, Jr. 72%
William Barrett 47%
Herbert Bateman 39%
Bob Bennett 69%
Kenneth Bentsen, Jr. 29%
Douglas Bereuter 44%
Marion Berry 34%
Michael Bilirakis 48%
Rod Blagojevich 29%
Thomas Bliley, Jr. 51%
Sherwood Boehlert 40%
Kit Bond 71%
Henry Bonilla 52%
David Edward Bonior 31%
Robert Borski, Jr. 15%
Rick Boucher 15%
Allen Boyd, Jr. 32%
Carol Moseley Braun 36%
John Breaux 46%
George Brown, Jr. 21%
Richard Bryan 48%
Ed Bryant 62%
Dale Bumpers 17%
Jim Bunning 49%
Conrad Burns 78%
Steve Buyer 53%
Robert Byrd 20%
Herbert Callahan 53%
Ben Campbell 72%
Thomas Campbell 69%
Chris Cannon 63%
Julia Carson 31%
Mike Castle 54%
John Chafee 59%
Helen Chenoweth 62%
Jon Lynn Christensen 63%
William Clay, Sr. 21%
Eva Clayton 22%
Joseph Maxwell Cleland 28%
Robert Clement 31%
Mac Collins 61%
Larry Combest 63%
Gary Condit 53%
Merrill Cook 50%
John Cooksey 52%
Paul Coverdell 77%
Christopher Cox 64%
William Coyne 26%
Larry Craig 82%
Robert Cramer 39%
Philip Crane 66%
Barbara Cubin 60%
Randall Cunningham 58%
Alfonse D'Amato 57%
Patsy Ann Danner 51%
Thomas Daschle 17%
James Davis 37%
Thomas Davis III 46%
Bill Delahunt 27%
Thomas DeLay 55%
Peter Deutsch 35%
Lincoln Diaz-Balart 44%
Jay Dickey 53%
Julian Dixon 14%
Chris Dodd 22%
Pete Domenici, Jr. 67%
Calvin Dooley 39%
John Doolittle 61%
Byron Dorgan 17%
Jennifer Dunn 55%
Chet Edwards 30%
Vern Ehlers 58%
Bob Ehrlich, Jr. 58%
Philip English 55%
John Ensign 68%
Bob Etheridge 26%
Lane Evans 29%
Terry Everett 57%
Thomas Ewing 52%
Duncan McLauchlin Faircloth 76%
Harris Fawell 51%
Victor Fazio 25%
Russ Feingold 30%
Thomas Foglietta 30%
Mark Foley 59%
Michael Patrick Forbes 57%
Harold Ford, Jr. 26%
Wendell Ford 22%
Tillie Fowler 56%
Jon David Fox 51%
Robert Franks 62%
William Frist 77%
Jonas Frost III 23%
Elizabeth Furse 33%
John Ganske 58%
Sam Gejdenson 27%
George Gekas 56%
Richard Andrew Gephardt 16%
Jim Gibbons 61%
Wayne Gilchrest 44%
Paul Gillmor 51%
Benjamin Gilman 44%
Newt Gingrich 80%
John Glenn 23%
Henry Gonzalez 17%
Virgil Goode, Jr. 53%
William Goodling 57%
Bart Gordon 41%
Slade Gorton 66%
Porter Goss 59%
Daniel Graham 43%
William Phillip Gramm 83%
Rodney Grams 77%
James Greenwood 49%
Judd Gregg 86%
Gilbert Gutknecht 60%
Charles Hagel 74%
Tony Hall 31%
Lee Hamilton 28%
James Hansen 54%
Jane Harman 44%
J. Dennis Hastert 51%
J.D. Hayworth, Jr. 61%
Joel Hefley 67%
W.G. Hefner 23%
Jesse Helms 76%
Rick Hill 49%
Van Hilleary 68%
Earl Hilliard, Jr. 21%
David Lee Hobson 49%
Pete Hoekstra 78%
Ernest Hollings 23%
Darlene Hooley 37%
Stephen Horn 48%
John Nathan Hostettler 65%
Amory Houghton, Jr. 39%
Kenny Hulshof 56%
Duncan Hunter 53%
William Hutchinson 58%
Y. Tim Hutchinson 86%
Henry Hyde 44%
Bob Inglis, Sr. 72%
Ernest Istook, Jr. 60%
William Jefferson 14%
James Merrill Jeffords 57%
William Lewis Jenkins 48%
Christopher John 40%
Jay Johnson 26%
Nancy Johnson 40%
Paul Kanjorski 26%
Sue Kelly 50%
Dirk Kempthorne 80%
Edward Kennedy, Sr. 10%
Joseph Kennedy II 28%
Patrick Kennedy 23%
Barbara Bailey Kennelly 28%
Bob Kerrey 39%
Carolyn Kilpatrick 23%
Jay Kim 48%
Gerald Kleczka 38%
Ronald Klink 25%
Scott Klug 69%
Joseph Knollenberg 45%
James Kolbe 54%
John LaFalce 30%
Nicholas Lampson 31%
Tom Lantos 25%
Stephen Largent 71%
Rick Lazio 50%
James Leach 52%
Ron Lewis 56%
John Linder 55%
William Lipinski 33%
Robert Livingston 47%
Trent Lott, Sr. 73%
William Luther 49%
Connie Mack 76%
James Maloney 41%
Thomas Manton 23%
Matthew Martinez 26%
Frank Mascara 30%
Robert Matsui 20%
Karen McCarthy 44%
Bill McCollum 49%
James McCrery III 48%
Joseph McDade 44%
Paul McHale 33%
John McHugh 48%
Scott McInnis 61%
David McIntosh 62%
Cynthia Ann McKinney 35%
Michael McNulty 24%
Martin Meehan 43%
Carrie Meek 19%
Jack Metcalf 49%
Juanita Millender-McDonald 18%
Dan Miller 64%
David Minge 52%
Patsy Takemoto Mink 18%
John Moakley 20%
Alan Mollohan 14%
Constance Morella 53%
Daniel Patrick Moynihan 32%
Frank Murkowski 70%
Jack Murtha 27%
George Nethercutt, Jr. 53%
Mark Neumann 82%
Robert William Ney 49%
Don Nickles 85%
Anne Northup 47%
Charles Norwood, Jr. 69%
James Nussle 60%
Jim Oberstar 18%
Dave Obey 28%
Solomon Ortiz, Sr. 22%
Major Owens 25%
Michael Oxley 46%
Ronald Packard 45%
Michael Pappas 56%
Paul Michael Parker 48%
William Paxon 62%
Donald Payne 25%
Edward Pease 56%
John Peterson 53%
Charles Pickering, Jr. 54%
Owen Pickett 29%
Richard Pombo 57%
Earl Pomeroy 30%
John Edward Porter 53%
Glenn Poshard 31%
Deborah Pryce 51%
Jack Quinn 46%
George Radanovich 59%
James Ramstad 64%
William Redmond 52%
Ralph Regula 47%
Frank Duncan Riggs 53%
Bob Riley 63%
Lynn Nancy Rivers 39%
Charles Robb 51%
Ciro Rodriguez 27%
Timothy Roemer 49%
James Rogan 54%
William Roth, Jr. 77%
Marge Roukema 55%
Jim Ryun 64%
Martin Olav Sabo 32%
Matthew Salmon 61%
Max Sandlin, Jr. 31%
Mark Sanford, Jr. 78%
Rick Santorum 83%
Paul Sarbanes 6%
H. James Saxton 45%
Joe Scarborough 70%
Daniel Schaefer 59%
John Shadegg 66%
E. Clay Shaw, Jr. 46%
Christopher Shays 72%
E.G. Shuster 53%
Norman Sisisky 34%
David Skaggs 27%
Joseph Skeen 45%
Ike Skelton 38%
Gordon Smith 68%
Linda Smith 50%
Nick Smith 72%
Robert Smith 49%
Bob Smith 84%
Vincent Snowbarger 60%
Vic Snyder 32%
Gerald B.H. Solomon 62%
Mark Souder 64%
Arlen Specter 51%
Floyd Spence 47%
John Spratt, Jr. 29%
Charles Stenholm 41%
Ted Stevens 69%
Louis Stokes 19%
Ted Strickland 31%
Robert Stump 64%
Bart Stupak 34%
John Sununu 57%
James Talent 62%
John Tanner 33%
Ellen Tauscher 36%
William Tauzin 51%
Charles Taylor 61%
Gene Taylor 50%
Craig Thomas 83%
William Thomas 47%
Fred Thompson 78%
Karen Thurman 27%
Strom Thurmond 79%
Todd Tiahrt 63%
Esteban Edward Torres 20%
Robert Torricelli 22%
James Traficant, Jr. 43%
James Turner 32%
Bruce Vento 34%
James Walsh 41%
Zach Wamp 66%
John Warner 79%
Wesley Watkins 53%
Julius Caesar Watts, Jr. 61%
David Weldon 52%
W. Curtis Weldon 47%
Gerald Weller 46%
Paul Wellstone 13%
Robert Wexler 28%
Robert Weygand 23%
Rick White 54%
Robert Wise, Jr. 20%
Albert Wynn 21%
Sidney Yates 22%

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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