Skip to content

Republican · Minnesota House, district 1B

Serving since Jan 14, 2025MN 2025–26 session

Portrait of Steve Gander, rendered as a two-tone print
Official portrait
0%
of itemized money from Minnesota donors, in the bottom 5% of State House Republicans

0% of the itemized money from individuals in the 2026 cycle came from donors with an address in Minnesota. Ranks 2291st of 2,335, where 1st is the highest share. 7 itemized donors.

Only donors who give more than $200 are reported with an address, so this is the share of that itemized money from donors living in Minnesota, ranked among State House Republicans. Small gifts are not counted either way. Candidates running statewide or for federal office often draw more money from out of state.

At a glance

6 measures against State House Republicans. 0% of the 25 bills Gander sponsored got out of committee, in the bottom quarter of the Minnesota House. Gander reported $7,525 in the 2026 cycle, in the bottom quarter of State House Republicans (median $33.7K).

The measures on which Gander sits furthest from the middle of State House Republicans, each against the same group, with the CSIP score when there is one. Every number is explained in its own section below.

From Minnesota, 2026

0%

Of itemized individual dollars · ranks 2291st of 2,335 State House Republicans

Out of committee

0%

Minnesota House average 4.4% · ranks 114th of 131

Itemized, 2026

$7,525

State House Republicans’ median $33.7K · ranks 2037th of 2,521

Party unity

95.2%

Minnesota House average 97.5% · ranks 103rd of 133 · 11 votes against the majority of Minnesota House Republicans

CSIP ideology

+0.19

More liberal than 76% of State House Republicans · ± 0.05

Attendance

100%

Minnesota House average 100% · ranks 67th of 133 · 297 roll calls

Peer group: State House Republicans. Rank 1 is the highest value in the group; the thick bar is Gander, the thin grey bar the peer average. The headline is the measure on which Gander is most unusual among peers (Methods, §08).

Back to topNext: What politicians say

What Gander says

No statements for the MN 2025–26 session.No classified statements (posts, press releases, newsletters, floor speeches) in this time window.

Back to topNext: Policy

Policy

No policy statements for the MN 2025–26 session.No classified statements (posts, press releases, newsletters, floor speeches) in this time window.

Back to topNext: Ideology

Ideology

Gander sits at +0.19 on the CSIP scale, right of 0, more liberal than 76% of State House Republicans. Approximate range +0.14 to +0.23, which understates the uncertainty; from 46 donors and 194 roll calls.

CSIP, the lab’s Common-Space Ideal Point, places every official, federal and state, on one left–right scale, estimated from roll-call votes, who gives money to whom, and the text of statements. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it; 0 is the centre of the scale, not a definition of “moderate”.

+0.19

CSIP ideal point

Approximate range +0.14 to +0.23. From 46 donors and 194 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.

← More liberalMore conservative →0Gander +0.2State House Republicans +0.4Minnesota House −0.4All State House +0.1

The outlined dot is Gander, coloured by its side of 0 (blue left, red right, deeper further out); the bar through it is the approximate range (±1.96 standard errors), which understates the uncertainty; the grey ticks below are the medians of Gander’s groups. 0 is the centre of the scale, not “moderate” by definition.

What this means, and what it doesn’t

The score summarises how an official votes, who funds them and how they talk, relative to everyone else. It does not grade positions as good or bad, and two officials with the same score can differ on any single issue. The ± range is 1.96 standard errors, which understates the uncertainty: scores whose ranges overlap may not differ at all, and even scores whose ranges do not overlap may not differ.

Where Gander sits

Every official in each group, on the CSIP scale

−2.0−1.00.0+1.0+2.0← More liberalMore conservative →State House Republicansmedian +0.4Gander +0.2Minnesota Housemedian −0.4All State Housemedian +0.1
Show the data
Gander's CSIP score of +0.19 placed against State House Republicans, Minnesota House, All State House.
GroupOfficialsMedianShare left of Gander
State House Republicans2917+0.424%
Minnesota House133−0.468%
All State House5324+0.158%
How to read the strips

Every small dot is one official on the same scale, coloured by its own score (blue left of 0, red right of 0, grey at 0, deeper further out) and spread up and down only to keep dots apart; where a group is crowded the dots overlap, and darker patches mean more officials. The large outlined dot is Gander in every row; the rule is each group’s median. The table under the figure gives the share of each group to the left of Gander.

Back to topNext: Money

Money

Gander reported $7,525 in the 2026 cycle, 22% of the State House Republicans’ median of $33.7K. State filings report no small-donation total. 0% of itemized individual money came from Minnesota.

Campaign money from state campaign-finance filings, as aggregates only; the lab never shows an individual donor. Campaigns must report by name every person who gives them more than $200 in a cycle (“itemized”); smaller gifts are reported only as one total (“unitemized”), so donor counts, donor states, employers and occupations describe itemized donors only. State filings report no small-gift total, so these figures add up itemized contributions only.

Election cycle
$7,525

itemized in the 2026 cycle

From 7 itemized donors. State House Republicans’ median $33.7K.

Where the money came from

Each square is one percent of itemized contributions in the 2026 cycle.

Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)Individuals (itemized): $2,475 (32.9%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)PACs and other committees: $5,050 (67.1%)
  • Individuals (itemized)33 squares$2,475
  • PACs and other committees67 squares$5,050
Show the data
Sources of Gander's money, 2026 cycle, one square per percent
SourceAmountShare
Individuals (itemized)$2,47532.9%
PACs and other committees$5,05067.1%
What this means, and what it doesn’t

Totals say how much a campaign took in, not how it was spent, and they rise sharply when a seat is up for election; compare cycles with that in mind.

Receipts by cycle

Itemized contributions, 2024 to 2026. The grey line is the State House Republicans’ median for 2026.

2024 cycle: $33.6K$33.6K20242026 cycle: $7,525$7,5252026State House Republicans median $33.7K
Show the data
Gander's receipts by cycle against the 2026 State House Republicans median.
ItemValue
2024 cycle$33.6K
2026 cycle$7,525

Top donor states, 2026

Itemized contributions by donor state. 0% came from Minnesota.

No itemized donors with an address.

Small donations

State filings report no total for small gifts.

Not reported in state filings.

Where itemized donors live

Individuals who gave more than $200, by donor state

Alaska: no dataAKMaine: no dataMEVermont: no dataVTNew Hampshire: no dataNHWashington: no dataWAIdaho: no dataIDMontana: no dataMTNorth Dakota: no dataNDMinnesota: no dataMNIllinois: no dataILWisconsin: no dataWIMichigan: no dataMINew York: no dataNYRhode Island: no dataRIMassachusetts: no dataMAOregon: no dataORNevada: no dataNVWyoming: no dataWYSouth Dakota: no dataSDIowa: no dataIAIndiana: no dataINOhio: no dataOHPennsylvania: no dataPANew Jersey: no dataNJConnecticut: no dataCTCalifornia: no dataCAUtah: no dataUTColorado: no dataCONebraska: no dataNEMissouri: no dataMOKentucky: no dataKYWest Virginia: no dataWVVirginia: no dataVAMaryland: no dataMDDelaware: no dataDEArizona: no dataAZNew Mexico: no dataNMKansas: no dataKSArkansas: no dataARTennessee: no dataTNNorth Carolina: no dataNCSouth Carolina: no dataSCDistrict of Columbia: no dataDCOklahoma: no dataOKLouisiana: no dataLAMississippi: no dataMSAlabama: no dataALGeorgia: no dataGAHawaii: no dataHITexas: no dataTXFlorida: no dataFL
Show the data
Gander's itemized individual contributions by donor state, 2026 cycle
StateValue
AlaskaNo data
MaineNo data
VermontNo data
New HampshireNo data
WashingtonNo data
IdahoNo data
MontanaNo data
North DakotaNo data
MinnesotaNo data
IllinoisNo data
WisconsinNo data
MichiganNo data
New YorkNo data
Rhode IslandNo data
MassachusettsNo data
OregonNo data
NevadaNo data
WyomingNo data
South DakotaNo data
IowaNo data
IndianaNo data
OhioNo data
PennsylvaniaNo data
New JerseyNo data
ConnecticutNo data
CaliforniaNo data
UtahNo data
ColoradoNo data
NebraskaNo data
MissouriNo data
KentuckyNo data
West VirginiaNo data
VirginiaNo data
MarylandNo data
DelawareNo data
ArizonaNo data
New MexicoNo data
KansasNo data
ArkansasNo data
TennesseeNo data
North CarolinaNo data
South CarolinaNo data
District of ColumbiaNo data
OklahomaNo data
LouisianaNo data
MississippiNo data
AlabamaNo data
GeorgiaNo data
HawaiiNo data
TexasNo data
FloridaNo data
7

itemized donors

People who gave more than $200

0%

from Minnesota

Of itemized individual dollars

How to read the map

Every state the same size. Darker states gave more itemized money; hatched states had no itemized donors; the outlined state is Minnesota. Gifts of $200 or less carry no address and are left out.

Top donor occupations

Itemized, 2026 cycle.

No occupations reported.

Top committees

PAC and committee contributions, 2026 cycle.

  1. OPTOMETRY PAC$1,000
  2. MINNKOTA POWER ACTION COMMITTEE$750
  3. MN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LEADERSHIP FD$750
  4. POUL HAAS PAC$750
  5. SEIU HEALTHCARE MINN (FKA SEIU LOCAL 113)$500

Top employers

Itemized, 2026 cycle.

No employers reported.

Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.

Back to topNext: Votes

Votes

Gander voted with the majority of Minnesota House Republicans on 95.2% of party-line votes and missed none of 297 roll calls. Minnesota House on average: 97.5% party unity, 100% attendance. Across all roll calls, Gander voted against the majority of Minnesota House Republicans 11 times.

297 roll calls Gander could vote on in the MN 2025–26 session, compared with Minnesota House. Attendance is the share with a vote recorded. Party unity counts only party-line roll calls, where most Democrats and most Republicans voted on opposite sides, and is the share of those where Gander voted with the majority of Minnesota House Republicans. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.

11

votes against the majority of Minnesota House Republicans

Party unity 95.2%, Minnesota House average 97.5%, ranks 103rd of 133. 297 roll calls in the MN 2025–26 session.

Attendance and party unity

The thick bar is Gander, the thin grey bar the Minnesota House average. The scale runs from 80% to 100% to show the gap.

80%100%
Gander
Peers
Rank
Attendance
100%
100%
67th of 133
Party unity
95.2%
97.5%
103rd of 133
Show the data
Gander's attendance and party unity against Minnesota House.
RowGanderPeers
Attendance100%100%
Party unity95.2%97.5%
What this means, and what it doesn’t

A missed roll call has many causes, from illness to campaigning, so attendance says how often, not why. A vote against the majority can be on procedure as well as substance, and many fall on roll calls where both parties split; the key votes below show the ones that decided something.

Key votes

25 roll calls the lab flagged as key in the MN 2025–26 session

Key votes
Party split (yea–nay)Why it’s key
May 17, 2026
HF 1849
Term limits provided for governor and lieutenant governor, and constitutional amendment proposed.
Niska Motion Suspension of Rules
YeaWith majorityfailD 0–67 · R 64–2Democrats 0 yea, 67 nay; Republicans 64 yea, 2 nayclose vote
May 17, 2026
HF 2354
Medical assistance fraud governing provisions added and modified, attorney general provided subpoena and enforcement authority, criminal penalties provided, conforming changes made, and money appropriated.
Passage, as amended
NayAgainst majoritypassD 67–0 · R 51–16Democrats 67 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 51 yea, 16 nayparty crossover
May 17, 2026
HF 5149
Law enforcement access to sensitive locations restricted, civil remedies established, concealing identity crime modified, scope of use of force investigations expanded, access to certain information limited.
Long motion Suspension of Rules
NayWith majoritypassD 67–0 · R 0–63Democrats 67 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 0 yea, 63 nayclose vote
May 17, 2026
SF 4612
Omnibus Health and Human Services supplemental appropriations
Repassage, as amended by Conference
YeaWith majoritypassD 67–0 · R 41–26Democrats 67 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 41 yea, 26 naybecame law · party crossover
May 17, 2026
SF 334
Human Services Systems Modernization Advisory Council and Legislative Commission on Human Services Systems; creation
Passage
YeaWith majoritypassD 67–0 · R 67–0Democrats 67 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 67 yea, 0 naybecame law
How key votes are chosen

Automatically: a final-passage or override vote where the measure became law, the margin was under 10%, at least 10% of either party voted against its majority, or the bill was among the 25 most mentioned in officials’ own statements. Up to 25 per window, most recent first; five are shown. Bars show yea on the left, nay on the right, per party.

Votes most often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Gander most often

  1. Tom SextonR295 shared votes97%
  2. Paul TorkelsonR294 shared votes97%
  3. Erica SchwartzR281 shared votes97%
  4. Nathan NelsonR296 shared votes97%
  5. Bjorn OlsonR296 shared votes97%

Votes least often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Gander least often

  1. Jay XiongD286 shared votes47%
  2. Ned CarrollD289 shared votes49%
  3. Tina LieblingD295 shared votes49%
  4. Aisha GomezD294 shared votes49%
  5. Leigh FinkeD296 shared votes49%
How to read the agreement lists

The share of roll calls both members voted on where they voted the same way, among colleagues sharing at least 50 such votes. High agreement with members of the other party is common on routine votes.

Full voting record

MN 2025–26 session, loads in batches

Back to topNext: Legislation

Legislation

Gander sponsored 25 bills in the MN 2025–26 session; none became law. Cosponsored 148 others. 0% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Minnesota House average 4.4%; 114th of 131).

The bills Gander sponsored and cosponsored in the MN 2025–26 session, from the official bill records, and how far each got: introduced, referred to or acted on in committee, passed one chamber, passed both, became law. A bill counts at every stage it has reached, so the blocks only shrink to the right.

Bills by stage

Counts for the MN 2025–26 session

Sponsored25 billsSponsored, Introduced: 2525Sponsored, In committee: 2525Sponsored, Passed one chamber: 00Sponsored, Passed both chambers: 00Sponsored, Became law: 00Cosponsored148 billsCosponsored, Introduced: 148148Cosponsored, In committee: 148148Cosponsored, Passed one chamber: 2020Cosponsored, Passed both chambers: 88Cosponsored, Became law: 77IntroducedIncommitteePassed onechamberPassed bothchambersBecamelaw
Show the data
Bills Gander sponsored and cosponsored, by furthest stage reached
RoleIntroducedIn committeePassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law
Sponsored2525000
Cosponsored1481482087
How to read the blocks

Ink blocks are bills Gander sponsored, ochre blocks bills Gander cosponsored; the figure above each block is the count. Most bills in any legislature never leave committee, so a short staircase is the norm.

0%

of sponsored bills got out of committee

Minnesota House average 4.4%. Ranks 114th of 131.

Cosponsorship partners

Colleagues who most often cosponsor with Gander, by number of shared bills in the MN 2025–26 session; the square shows their party.

  1. John Burkel44
  2. Paul Anderson31
  3. Krista Knudsen31
  4. Jeff Backer25
  5. Bianca Virnig22
What this means, and what it doesn’t

The score is the share of sponsored bills that a committee reported out or a chamber passed, with at least 5 sponsored bills, ranked within the peer group. Members of the majority party and committee chairs move more bills, so the rank reflects position in the chamber as well as effort. Cosponsorship partners are the five colleagues who share the most of Gander’s bills; the toggle shows more.

Bill list

Sponsored and cosponsored, with status and policy area; five are shown, the toggle shows the rest

Bills sponsored and cosponsored
HF 5134Temporary moratorium on imposition of the motor fuels tax established, transfers made, and money appropriated.CosponsorMay 12, 2026In committeeTaxation(model)Author added Backer May 13, 2026
HF 5045Photo ID required to register to vote and to vote, SAVE Minnesota Act established, proof of citizenship to vote required, voter identification card created, provisional ballots established, driver's license requirements modified, and money appropriated.CosponsorApr 20, 2026In committeeGovernment Operations and Politics(model)Introduction and first reading, referred to Elections Finance and Government Operations Apr 20, 2026
HF 5028East Grand Forks; municipal infrastructure supporting an industrial park funding provided, bonds issued, and money appropriated.SponsorApr 20, 2026In committeeEconomics and Public Finance(model)Introduction and first reading, referred to Capital Investment Apr 20, 2026
HF 5031Career rule for teachers aged 60 with 30 years of service created.CosponsorApr 20, 2026In committeeLabor and Employment(model)Author added Jacob May 12, 2026
HF 4907Motor vehicle registration tax modified, and money transferred.CosponsorApr 9, 2026In committeeTaxation(model)Motion did not prevail Apr 9, 2026

Back to topNext: Online

Online

A site that changed 1 time in 90 days. Gander’s official site had 1 page when last crawled on Oct 1, 2026.

The lab crawls Gander’s official and campaign websites (weekly for Congress, monthly for the states) and keeps every page’s text, so changes can be read later; it also records social accounts and describes the images Gander posts with a vision model.

Websites

How to read the counts

“Pages crawled” is the size of the site at the last crawl; “changes in 90 days” counts pages whose text differed from the previous crawl. Sites change for many routine reasons, such as new press releases, so a high count is not by itself notable.

Images Gander posted

No images from Gander’s posts have been described.

About the descriptions

Written by a vision model and may be wrong. Open the post to see the original. Five are shown; the toggle shows the rest.

State floor speeches

13 turns, Apr 7, 2025 to May 16, 2026

Floor speeches

Transcribed from chamber video or captions by the lab. They are not classified for kinds of statement.

Back to topNext: Methods and sources

Methods and sources

How this page was made. Profile built Oct 28, 2026; site last built Oct 28, 2026. Every number on the page is computed from the sources listed here, by the same rules for every official; nothing is written by hand.

The headline

The headline is the measure on which Gander is most unusual among State House Republicans, chosen by one rule for every official of every party. The candidates are the rate of each kind of statement and of extreme labels, party unity, attendance, the small-donor share, the in-state share and total receipts of the latest cycle, the share of sponsored bills that got out of committee, talk-to-bills agreement, and the CSIP score’s place within the party group.

The builder ranks every measure within the same peer group the page compares it with, and writes each official’s percentile: the share of the group below the value, ties counting half, so 0.5 is the median and a value shared by many never ranks first. A measure’s score is how far that percentile sits from the median (0 in the middle, 0.5 at either end), and the highest score leads if it is above 0.25, outside the middle half of the group. Scores within 0.03 of each other are a tie, broken in this order: votes against the party majority, kinds of statement, ideology, roll calls missed, small donations, in-state money, legislation, agreement, extreme labels, receipts.

A measure counts only with at least 200 statements, 100 roll calls or 5 sponsored bills behind it and a peer group of at least 10. Two things never lead: high party unity or attendance, where most members sit, and a high rate of a kind of statement backed by fewer than 10 statements. When nothing qualifies, the headline is a neutral fact instead: statements classified, or years in office. The wording always names the direction (“in the bottom 5% of …”, “votes against the majority of …”).

Identifiers

Profile id
23bda6c1-1fa1-4d42-9b6c-8c76d1d91227
Open States
ocd-person/23bda6c1-1fa1-4d42-9b6c-8c76d1d91227

Bulk files with the same data for every official:

Freshness of this profile’s data

  • What politicians sayOct 27, 20261 days agoMembers of Congress: tweets since 2017; press releases, newsletters and floor speeches since 2022. State legislators: tweets since May 2024. Governors: tweets since January 2025. Labels from an LLM classifier.
  • Roll calls (state)Oct 21, 20267 days agoOpen States floor roll calls, 2019 on (none for AK and MO).
  • Bills (state)Oct 28, 2026todayOpen States bills and sponsors, 2019 on; stages from roll calls.
  • Campaign money (state)no dateState campaign-finance agencies, 2019 on; aggregates only.
  • Ideology (CSIP)Oct 25, 20263 days agoCommon-Space Ideal Points (CSIP), current validated run.
  • WebsitesOct 25, 20263 days agoWeekly crawls of federal sites since April 2026; monthly state crawls since June 2026.
  • State floor speechesOct 21, 20267 days agoState floor speech turns (published transcripts and captions), 2020 on; not LLM-classified.

How the measures work

What politicians say
Every post, press release, newsletter and congressional floor speech is read by a language model and marked for personal attacks, policy criticism, policy discussion, bipartisanship and credit claiming. A statement can be in several. Rates are shares of statements in the window. The methods paper.
Extreme labels
A statement has an extreme label when it calls a politician, party or policy “far left”, “far right”, “MAGA”, “extreme”, “radical”, “woke”, “fascist” or “communist”. The target is who the label is aimed at.
Policy areas and agreement
Statements and bills share 25 Congressional Research Service policy areas (state bills are assigned by a language model). Agreement is 1 − Jensen–Shannon distance between the two distributions, shown with at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills.
Ideology (CSIP)
Common-Space Ideal Points place federal and state officials on one left–right scale, estimated jointly from roll calls, campaign contributions and the text of statements, with standard errors. Only a validated run is shown. The methods paper.
Campaign money
Campaigns report by name only donors who give more than $200 in a cycle; smaller gifts are reported as one total. Federal totals and the small-donor share come from the FEC’s financial summaries of each campaign committee. Donor counts, donor states, employers and occupations cover itemized donors only. State filings report no small-gift totals, so state figures are itemized only. The lab never publishes donor names.
Votes and key votes
Attendance, party unity and the count of votes against the majority of an official’s own party come from roll calls (Voteview for Congress, chamber records for the states). Key votes are final-passage or override votes that became law, were decided by under 10%, saw at least 10% of a party vote against its majority, or concerned one of the 25 bills most mentioned in officials’ statements.
Peers and ranks
Comparisons are with the same party, chamber and level (for example House Democrats); state legislators are compared within their state and chamber for votes. Every comparison names its group. Rank 1 is the highest value in the group; tied values share the average of their ranks, and the percentile is the share of the group below the value, ties counting half.

America’s Political Pulse · Polarization Research Lab

Back to top