Policy criticism
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
Jul 1, 2026 · Posts on X (state legislators) · policy criticism; policy discussion; Economics and Public Finance · Source
$1.6M
in itemized contributions in the 2026 cycle, in the top 5% of State Senate Democrats
The median for State Senate Democrats is $55.5K. Ranks 10th of 746, where 1st raised the most. 466 itemized donors.
Itemized contributions reported to the state in the 2026 cycle, ranked among State Senate Democrats. State filings leave small gifts out, and totals depend on whether the seat is up this cycle.
At a glance
6 measures against State Senate Democrats. 67% of Hughes’s statements discuss policy, 1.6 times the State Senate Democrat average of 43%. Hughes missed 2.2% of 502 roll calls, attendance in the bottom tenth of the Pennsylvania Senate (average 98.9%).
The measures on which Hughes sits furthest from the middle of State Senate Democrats, each against the same group, with the CSIP score when there is one. Every number is explained in its own section below.
Itemized, 2026
$1.6M
State Senate Democrats’ median $55.5K · ranks 10th of 746
Policy discussion
67%
State Senate Democrats average 43% · ranks 25th of 329
Attendance
97.8%
Pennsylvania Senate average 98.9% · ranks 46th of 50 · 502 roll calls
Out of committee
4.1%
Pennsylvania Senate average 24% · ranks 45th of 49
Policy criticism
20%
State Senate Democrats average 10% · ranks 56th of 329
CSIP ideology
−0.77
Left of 0, the centre of the scale · ± 0.03
Peer group: State Senate Democrats. Rank 1 is the highest value in the group; the thick bar is Hughes, the thin grey bar the peer average. The headline is the measure on which Hughes is most unusual among peers (Methods, §08).
What Hughes says
Hughes attacks opponents personally about as often as the median State Senate Democrat. Personal attacks in 0.1% of 834 statements, against 2.4% for the average State Senate Democrat; 165th of 329.
An AI model reads each of Hughes’s 834 statements in the PA 2025–26 session (834 posts on X) and marks the kinds of statement it contains: a personal attack, criticism of a policy, discussion of policy, bipartisanship, credit claiming, and extreme labels. A statement can carry several. Every rate is compared with the average for State Senate Democrats and ranked among them.
Kinds of statement
Share of statements carrying each label, the PA 2025–26 session
0%80%
Hughes
Peers
Rank
Policy discussion561 statements
67%
43%
25th of 329
Credit claiming182 statements
22%
16%
93rd of 329
Policy criticism163 statements
20%
10%
56th of 329
Bipartisanship47 statements
6%
3%
64th of 329
Personal attacks1 statements
0%
2%
165th of 329
Show the data
| Row | Hughes | Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Policy discussion | 67% | 43% |
| Credit claiming | 22% | 16% |
| Policy criticism | 20% | 10% |
| Bipartisanship | 6% | 3% |
| Personal attacks | 0% | 2% |
834
statements classified
834 posts on X.
Show the data
| Part | Value |
|---|---|
| posts on X | 834 |
How to read the bars
The thick bar is Hughes; the thin grey bar is the average State Senate Democrats. A longer thick bar means Hughes does this more than peers. Rank 1 is the highest rate in the group.
Extreme labels
Hughes used extreme labels in 0.8% of statements, close to the peer average. 7 statements, most often aimed at MAGA; peers 0.8%.
- “MAGA”6
Who gets the labels
Targets named alongside an extreme label, by number of statements
- MAGA1
- PA Republicans1
What an extreme label is
Calls a politician, a party or a policy “far left”, “far right”, “MAGA”, “extreme”, “radical”, “woke”, “fascist” or “communist”. The target is who or what the label was aimed at. The lists show the five most used labels and targets; the toggle shows the rest.
Month by month
Share of statements per month, the PA 2025–26 session
Show the data
| Column | Statements | Personal attacks | Policy criticism | Policy discussion | Bipartisanship | Credit claiming | Extreme labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan ’25 | 46 | 0.0% | 37.0% | 78.3% | 0.0% | 30.4% | 0.0% |
| Feb ’25 | 34 | 0.0% | 29.4% | 50.0% | 0.0% | 17.6% | 2.9% |
| Mar ’25 | 33 | 0.0% | 30.3% | 54.5% | 6.1% | 12.1% | 0.0% |
| Apr ’25 | 88 | 0.0% | 28.4% | 69.3% | 12.5% | 13.6% | 2.3% |
| May ’25 | 43 | 2.3% | 30.2% | 55.8% | 2.3% | 9.3% | 4.7% |
| Jun ’25 | 56 | 0.0% | 25.0% | 78.6% | 3.6% | 19.6% | 0.0% |
| Jul ’25 | 28 | 0.0% | 42.9% | 67.9% | 3.6% | 17.9% | 0.0% |
| Aug ’25 | 52 | 0.0% | 25.0% | 69.2% | 19.2% | 17.3% | 1.9% |
| Sep ’25 | 40 | 0.0% | 15.0% | 50.0% | 2.5% | 20.0% | 0.0% |
| Oct ’25 | 66 | 0.0% | 30.3% | 60.6% | 6.1% | 7.6% | 0.0% |
| Nov ’25 | 35 | 0.0% | 5.7% | 74.3% | 0.0% | 40.0% | 0.0% |
| Dec ’25 | 50 | 0.0% | 2.0% | 44.0% | 6.0% | 20.0% | 2.0% |
| Jan ’26 | 26 | 0.0% | 3.9% | 50.0% | 3.9% | 7.7% | 0.0% |
| Feb ’26 | 37 | 0.0% | 13.5% | 73.0% | 8.1% | 21.6% | 0.0% |
| Mar ’26 | 34 | 0.0% | 2.9% | 70.6% | 5.9% | 38.2% | 0.0% |
| Apr ’26 | 24 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 83.3% | 0.0% | 41.7% | 0.0% |
| May ’26 | 29 | 0.0% | 13.8% | 65.5% | 6.9% | 24.1% | 0.0% |
| Jun ’26 | 21 | 0.0% | 14.3% | 81.0% | 9.5% | 28.6% | 0.0% |
| Jul ’26 | 46 | 0.0% | 13.0% | 84.8% | 2.2% | 34.8% | 0.0% |
| Aug ’26 | 8 | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) |
| Sep ’26 | 25 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 88.0% | 0.0% | 56.0% | 0.0% |
| Oct ’26 | 13 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 76.9% | 7.7% | 30.8% | 0.0% |
How to read the strips
Each row is one kind of statement; each cell is a month, shaded against that row’s own peak (darker = closer to the peak), with the peak and the latest value written at the right. The top row counts statements. The strip covers every month of the PA 2025–26 session, the same span as the rates above, including months with no statements. A month with fewer than 10 statements is hatched, not shaded: one or two posts would swing its rate to 0% or 100%. One month is hatched here.
In Hughes’s words
Real statements from the classifier’s example set, with the labels it assigned
Personal attacks
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
May 24, 2025 · Posts on X (state legislators) · personal attacks; target: Donald Trump · Source
Extreme label
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
Dec 3, 2025 · Posts on X (state legislators) · policy criticism; extreme label “MAGA” aimed at MAGA · Source
Examples by category
Up to five recent statements in each category
Overtly questions a named person’s character, integrity or loyalty, or calls them names. Criticising a record or a policy does not count.
Posts on X (state legislators)
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
personal attacks · target: Donald TrumpSource
All 834 statements
Newest first, the PA 2025–26 session
The full feed
Five statements at a time, newest first; filters apply to the statements loaded so far. Export saves the statements that match. Sources: 834 posts on X.
Policy
Education is what Hughes talks about most: 25% of policy statements, above the peer share. Talk and legislation agree at 0.59 on a 0–1 scale (State Senate Democrats average 0.56; 101st of 228).
Each policy statement is tagged by the AI model with one or more of 25 policy areas from the Congressional Research Service list, so the shares say what Hughes talks about. The bills Hughes sponsors and cosponsors carry the same areas, so the two can be compared.
What Hughes talks about
Share of policy statements by area, the PA 2025–26 session
0%35%
Hughes
Peers
Education140 statements
25%
15%
Health138 statements
25%
17%
Economics and Public Finance86 statements
15%
10%
Housing and Community Development70 statements
12%
7%
Transportation and Public Works47 statements
8%
5%
Show the data
| Row | Hughes | Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Education | 25% | 15% |
| Health | 25% | 17% |
| Economics and Public Finance | 15% | 10% |
| Housing and Community Development | 12% | 7% |
| Transportation and Public Works | 8% | 5% |
How to read the bars
The thick bar is the share of Hughes’s policy statements in an area; the thin grey bar is the average share for State Senate Democrats. A statement counts once in each of its areas, so shares can add to more than 100%. The five largest areas are shown; the toggle shows the rest.
Talks about · legislates on
Left: share of statements by policy area. Right: share of bills. Areas in order of their share of statements; both sides run from 0 to 35%. Grey ticks are the State Senate Democrats averages.
Show the data
| Area | Talks about | State Senate Democrats, talks about | Legislates on | State Senate Democrats, legislates on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 25% | 15% | 8% | 9% |
| Health | 25% | 17% | 9% | 15% |
| Economics and Public Finance | 15% | 10% | 11% | 3% |
| Housing and Community Development | 12% | 7% | 3% | 5% |
| Transportation and Public Works | 8% | 5% | 4% | 5% |
0.59
talk-to-bills agreement, 0 to 1
State Senate Democrats average 0.56. Ranks 101st of 228.
What agreement means, and what it doesn’t
Agreement is 1 minus the distance between the two distributions (Jensen–Shannon): 1 means Hughes legislates on exactly the areas Hughes talks about, in the same proportions; 0 means no overlap. It does not say whether the bills match the positions in the statements, only the subjects. Bills Hughes sponsored count fully, cosponsored bills a quarter. Shown with at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills.
Ideology
Hughes sits at −0.77 on the CSIP scale, left of 0, more liberal than 68% of State Senate Democrats. Approximate range −0.80 to −0.73, which understates the uncertainty; from 1,101 donors and 909 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”.
−0.77
CSIP ideal point
Approximate range −0.80 to −0.73. From 1,101 donors and 909 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.
The outlined dot is Hughes, 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 Hughes’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 Hughes sits
Every official in each group, on the CSIP scale
State Senate Democrats825 · median −0.7
Pennsylvania Senate50 · median +0.2
All State Senate1,909 · median +0.1
Show the data
| Group | Officials | Median | Share left of Hughes |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Senate Democrats | 825 | −0.7 | 32% |
| Pennsylvania Senate | 50 | +0.2 | 10% |
| All State Senate | 1909 | +0.1 | 14% |
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 Hughes 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 Hughes.
Money
Hughes reported $1.6M in the 2026 cycle, 28.0 times the State Senate Democrats’ median of $55.5K. State filings report no small-donation total. 88% of itemized individual money came from Pennsylvania.
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.
$1.6M
itemized in the 2026 cycle
From 466 itemized donors. State Senate Democrats’ median $55.5K.
Where the money came from
Each square is one percent of itemized contributions in the 2026 cycle.
- Individuals (itemized)49 squares$759.0K
- PACs and other committees51 squares$795.4K
Show the data
| Source | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals (itemized) | $759.0K | 48.8% |
| PACs and other committees | $795.4K | 51.2% |
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, 2020 to 2026. The grey line is the State Senate Democrats’ median for 2026.
Show the data
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2020 cycle | $1.7M |
| 2022 cycle | $2.5M |
| 2024 cycle | $2.9M |
| 2026 cycle | $1.6M |
Top donor states, 2026
Itemized contributions by donor state. 88% came from Pennsylvania.
- Pennsylvania$670.3K
- New Jersey$56.9K
- Delaware$11.7K
- Maryland$7,300
- North Carolina$3,200
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
Show the data
| State | Value |
|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $670.3K |
| New Jersey | $56.9K |
| Delaware | $11.7K |
| Maryland | $7,300 |
| North Carolina | $3,200 |
| District of Columbia | $2,925 |
| California | $2,150 |
| New York | $1,150 |
| Minnesota | $1,000 |
| Massachusetts | $600 |
| Virginia | $500 |
| Georgia | $500 |
| Florida | $500 |
| Colorado | $150 |
| Connecticut | $100 |
| Alaska | No data |
| Maine | No data |
| Vermont | No data |
| New Hampshire | No data |
| Washington | No data |
| Idaho | No data |
| Montana | No data |
| North Dakota | No data |
| Illinois | No data |
| Wisconsin | No data |
| Michigan | No data |
| Rhode Island | No data |
| Oregon | No data |
| Nevada | No data |
| Wyoming | No data |
| South Dakota | No data |
| Iowa | No data |
| Indiana | No data |
| Ohio | No data |
| Utah | No data |
| Nebraska | No data |
| Missouri | No data |
| Kentucky | No data |
| West Virginia | No data |
| Arizona | No data |
| New Mexico | No data |
| Kansas | No data |
| Arkansas | No data |
| Tennessee | No data |
| South Carolina | No data |
| Oklahoma | No data |
| Louisiana | No data |
| Mississippi | No data |
| Alabama | No data |
| Hawaii | No data |
| Texas | No data |
466
itemized donors
People who gave more than $200
88%
from Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania. Gifts of $200 or less carry no address and are left out.
Top donor occupations
Itemized, 2026 cycle.
- RETIRED$72.2K 14 donors
- CEO$54.4K 12 donors
- PRESIDENT$41.6K 11 donors
- FOUNDER$38.5K 4 donors
- REAL ESTATE$36.0K 4 donors
Top committees
PAC and committee contributions, 2026 cycle.
- AFSCME PEOPLE$100.0K
- GREATER PA CARPENTERS PEC$75.0K
- KEYSTONE SENIORS PAC$60.0K
- LABORERS DISTRICT COUNCIL PAC FUND$35.0K
- OPERATORS FOR SKILL PAC$33.5K
Top employers
Itemized, 2026 cycle.
No employers reported.
Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.
Votes
Hughes voted with the majority of Pennsylvania Senate Democrats on 97.1% of party-line votes and missed 2.2% of 502 roll calls. Pennsylvania Senate on average: 93.4% party unity, 98.9% attendance. Across all roll calls, Hughes voted against the majority of Pennsylvania Senate Democrats 6 times.
502 roll calls Hughes could vote on in the PA 2025–26 session, compared with Pennsylvania Senate. 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 Hughes voted with the majority of Pennsylvania Senate Democrats. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.
6
votes against the majority of Pennsylvania Senate Democrats
Party unity 97.1%, Pennsylvania Senate average 93.4%, ranks 20th of 50. 502 roll calls in the PA 2025–26 session.
Attendance and party unity
The thick bar is Hughes, the thin grey bar the Pennsylvania Senate average. The scale runs from 80% to 100% to show the gap.
80%100%
Hughes
Peers
Rank
Attendance
97.8%
98.9%
46th of 50
Party unity
97.1%
93.4%
20th of 50
Show the data
| Row | Hughes | Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance | 97.8% | 98.9% |
| Party unity | 97.1% | 93.4% |
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 PA 2025–26 session
| Party split (yea–nay) | Why it’s key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 21, 2026 | HB 2187 An Act amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929, in administrative organization, further providing for criminal history background checks of employees and contractors with access to Federal tax information. FINAL PASSAGE | Yea | With majority | pass | D 23–0 · R 27–0Democrats 23 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 27 yea, 0 nay | became law |
| Oct 21, 2026 | HB 558 An Act amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), known as The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, in creation of leases, statute of frauds and mortgaging of leaseholds, providing for rental applications. FINAL PASSAGE | Yea | With majority | pass | D 23–0 · R 13–14Democrats 23 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 13 yea, 14 nay | became law · party crossover |
| Oct 21, 2026 | HB 1098 An Act amending the act of November 22, 1978 (P.L.1166, No.274), referred to as the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Law, providing for Investigation and Prosecution of Internet Crimes Against Children Program. FINAL PASSAGE | Yea | With majority | pass | D 23–0 · R 27–0Democrats 23 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 27 yea, 0 nay | became law |
| Oct 21, 2026 | SB 807 An Act amending the act of November 6, 1987 (P.L.381, No.79), known as the Older Adults Protective Services Act, in preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions; in administration, further providing for investigations of reports of need for protective services, for immunity from civil a FINAL PASSAGE | Yea | With majority | pass | D 15–8 · R 27–0Democrats 15 yea, 8 nay; Republicans 27 yea, 0 nay | party crossover |
| Oct 21, 2026 | HB 2437 An Act amending Title 58 (Oil and Gas) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in unconventional gas well fee, further providing for Statewide initiatives. FINAL PASSAGE | Yea | With majority | pass | D 22–1 · R 27–0Democrats 22 yea, 1 nay; Republicans 27 yea, 0 nay | became 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 Hughes most often
- Jay CostaD491 shared votes99%
- Patty KimD485 shared votes98%
- Wayne FontanaD485 shared votes98%
- Art HaywoodD450 shared votes97%
- John KaneD484 shared votes97%
Votes least often with
The colleagues who voted the same way as Hughes least often
- Jarrett ColemanR491 shared votes66%
- Dawn KeeferR491 shared votes67%
- Doug MastrianoR485 shared votes69%
- Scott HutchinsonR491 shared votes70%
- Chris GebhardR491 shared votes72%
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
PA 2025–26 session, loads in batches
Legislation
Hughes sponsored 73 bills in the PA 2025–26 session; none became law. Cosponsored 404 others. 4.1% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Pennsylvania Senate average 24%; 45th of 49).
The bills Hughes sponsored and cosponsored in the PA 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 PA 2025–26 session
Show the data
| Role | Introduced | In committee | Passed one chamber | Passed both chambers | Became law |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsored | 73 | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cosponsored | 404 | 404 | 31 | 8 | 6 |
How to read the blocks
Ink blocks are bills Hughes sponsored, ochre blocks bills Hughes cosponsored; the figure above each block is the count. Most bills in any legislature never leave committee, so a short staircase is the norm.
4.1%
of sponsored bills got out of committee
Pennsylvania Senate average 24%. Ranks 45th of 49.
Cosponsorship partners
Colleagues who most often cosponsor with Hughes, by number of shared bills in the PA 2025–26 session; the square shows their party.
- Jay Costa374
- Art Haywood367
- John Kane318
- Tina Tartaglione289
- Amanda Cappelletti272
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 Hughes’s bills; the toggle shows more.
Bill list
Sponsored and cosponsored, with status and policy area; five are shown, the toggle shows the rest
| SR 403 | A Resolution noting with great sadness the passing of the Honorable Timothy Francis Murphy, whose life greatly benefited all those who lived, served and worked with him; and extending heartfelt condolences to Dr. Murphy's wife, Nanette Missig Murphy, daughter, Bevin DeSantis, grandchildren, Thomasin | Cosponsor | Oct 19, 2026 | Passed one chamber | Unassigned | Introduced and adopted Oct 19, 2026 |
| SR 399 | A Resolution designating the month of October 2026 as "Domestic Violence Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania. | Cosponsor | Oct 15, 2026 | In committee | Unassigned | Referred to Rules & Executive Nominations Oct 15, 2026 |
| SR 395 | A Resolution recognizing October 21, 2026, as "Global Dignity Day" in Pennsylvania. | Cosponsor | Oct 13, 2026 | In committee | Unassigned | Referred to Rules & Executive Nominations Oct 13, 2026 |
| SR 387 | A Resolution recognizing the month of October 2026 as "Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania. | Cosponsor | Oct 8, 2026 | In committee | Unassigned | Referred to Rules & Executive Nominations Oct 8, 2026 |
| SR 394 | A Resolution designating the week of October 25 through 31, 2026, as "Epidermolysis Bullosa Awareness Week" in Pennsylvania. | Cosponsor | Oct 8, 2026 | In committee | Unassigned | Referred to Rules & Executive Nominations Oct 8, 2026 |
Online
A site that changed 7 times in 90 days. Hughes’s official site had 10 pages when last crawled on Sep 1, 2026.
The lab crawls Hughes’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 Hughes posts with a vision model.
Websites
- 10
pages crawled
7changes in 90 days
- 12
pages crawled
0changes in 90 days
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.
Social accounts
Images Hughes posted
No images from Hughes’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
157 turns, Feb 3, 2020 to Jul 12, 2026
Floor speeches
Transcribed from chamber video or captions by the lab. They are not classified for kinds of statement.
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 Hughes is most unusual among State Senate Democrats, 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
- 53a598e0-3595-4b19-8f65-4a538bdc7a74
- Open States
- ocd-person/53a598e0-3595-4b19-8f65-4a538bdc7a74
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