FACT BRIEF

Is Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin rated one of the most liberal members of the US Senate?

Friday, April 21, 2023

By Tom Kertscher

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YES

Several rating systems place U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., among the most liberal members of the Senate.

Baldwin is the sixth most liberal senator in the current Senate, according to Voteview, a roll call vote database maintained by UCLA’s Political Science Department. Its rankings are widely used by political scientists.

Americans for Democratic Action, which describes itself as a home for liberal activists, gave Baldwin a 100% rating for votes that senators took in 2021.

Heritage Action for America, a sister organization of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, gives Baldwin a lifetime score of 5% for how conservative she is.

The news website FiveThirtyEight said that Baldwin votes with President Joe Biden 95.5% of the time.

Some rankings put Baldwin as less liberal. GovTrack.us, which tracks Congress, ranks her 76 out of 100 for the “most politically right” senator.

Baldwin plans to run for re-election in 2024.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Voteview 118th Congress (2023-2025) > Senators

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The Senate's oddest of 'odd couples': In Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson, Wisconsin has produced a historically divergent pairing

Americans for Democratic Action 2021 Congressional Voting Record

Heritage Action For America Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Scorecard 118: %

Govtrack 2022 Report Cards

FiveThirtyEight Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?

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