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Democrat · Iowa Senate, district 16

Serving since Jan 12, 2026IA 2025–26 session

Portrait of Renee Hardman, rendered as a two-tone print
Official portrait
0
years in office

Serving since 2026. No measure in the IA 2025–26 session stands far from the peer average.

Time in the current office, from the official record.

At a glance

6 measures against the Iowa Senate. Hardman voted against the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats 9 times; party unity 93.7%, in the bottom half of the Iowa Senate (average 95.7%). 84% of Hardman’s itemized money in the 2026 cycle came from Iowa, in the bottom half of State Senate Democrats. Hardman sits at −0.75 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 66% of State Senate Democrats.

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

Party unity

93.7%

Iowa Senate average 95.7% · ranks 37th of 49 · 9 votes against the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats

From Iowa, 2026

84%

Of itemized individual dollars · ranks 533rd of 714 State Senate Democrats

CSIP ideology

−0.75

More liberal than 66% of State Senate Democrats · ± 0.07

Attendance

94.3%

Iowa Senate average 93.9% · ranks 33rd of 49 · 302 roll calls

Out of committee

4.5%

Iowa Senate average 11% · ranks 28th of 48

Itemized, 2026

$81.2K

State Senate Democrats’ median $55.5K · ranks 308th of 746

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

Back to topNext: What politicians say

What Hardman says

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

Back to topNext: Ideology

Ideology

Hardman sits at −0.75 on the CSIP scale, left of 0, more liberal than 66% of State Senate Democrats. Approximate range −0.82 to −0.67, which understates the uncertainty; from 325 donors and 123 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”.

−0.75

CSIP ideal point

Approximate range −0.82 to −0.67. From 325 donors and 123 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.

← More liberalMore conservative →0Hardman −0.7State Senate Democrats −0.7Iowa Senate +0.4All State Senate +0.1

The outlined dot is Hardman, 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 Hardman’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 Hardman sits

Every official in each group, on the CSIP scale

−2.0−1.00.0+1.0+2.0← More liberalMore conservative →State Senate Democratsmedian −0.7Hardman −0.7Iowa Senatemedian +0.4All State Senatemedian +0.1
Show the data
Hardman's CSIP score of −0.75 placed against State Senate Democrats, Iowa Senate, All State Senate.
GroupOfficialsMedianShare left of Hardman
State Senate Democrats825−0.734%
Iowa Senate49+0.410%
All State Senate1909+0.115%
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 Hardman 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 Hardman.

Back to topNext: Money

Money

Hardman reported $81.2K in the 2026 cycle, above the State Senate Democrats’ median of $55.5K. State filings report no small-donation total. 84% of itemized individual money came from Iowa.

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.

$81.2K

itemized in the 2026 cycle

From 325 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): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)Individuals (itemized): $34.9K (42.9%)PACs and other committees: $1,000 (1.2%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)Party committees: $45.3K (55.8%)
  • Individuals (itemized)43 squares$34.9K
  • PACs and other committees1 squares$1,000
  • Party committees56 squares$45.3K
Show the data
Sources of Hardman's money, 2026 cycle, one square per percent
SourceAmountShare
Individuals (itemized)$34.9K42.9%
PACs and other committees$1,0001.2%
Party committees$45.3K55.8%
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, 2026 to 2026. The grey line is the State Senate Democrats’ median for 2026.

2026 cycle: $81.2K$81.2K2026State Senate Democrats median $55.5K
Show the data
Hardman's receipts by cycle against the 2026 State Senate Democrats median.
ItemValue
2026 cycle$81.2K

Top donor states, 2026

Itemized contributions by donor state. 84% came from Iowa.

  1. Iowa$29.4K
  2. California$2,045
  3. New York$718
  4. Maryland$530
  5. Florida$329

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: $3MEVermont: $27VTNew Hampshire: no dataNHWashington: $122WAIdaho: no dataIDMontana: $2MTNorth Dakota: no dataNDMinnesota: $12MNIllinois: $134ILWisconsin: $28WIMichigan: $155MINew York: $718NYRhode Island: $25RIMassachusetts: $171MAOregon: $45ORNevada: no dataNVWyoming: no dataWYSouth Dakota: no dataSDIowa: $29.4KIAIndiana: $51INOhio: $49OHPennsylvania: $108PANew Jersey: $17NJConnecticut: $1CTCalifornia: $2,045CAUtah: no dataUTColorado: $213CONebraska: no dataNEMissouri: $75MOKentucky: no dataKYWest Virginia: no dataWVVirginia: $76VAMaryland: $530MDDelaware: $2DEArizona: $8AZNew Mexico: $81NMKansas: no dataKSArkansas: $200ARTennessee: $10TNNorth Carolina: $50NCSouth Carolina: $25SCDistrict of Columbia: $5DCOklahoma: no dataOKLouisiana: $1LAMississippi: no dataMSAlabama: $10ALGeorgia: $110GAHawaii: $14HITexas: $64TXFlorida: $329FL
Show the data
Hardman's itemized individual contributions by donor state, 2026 cycle
StateValue
Iowa$29.4K
California$2,045
New York$718
Maryland$530
Florida$329
Colorado$213
Arkansas$200
Massachusetts$171
Michigan$155
Illinois$134
Washington$122
Georgia$110
Pennsylvania$108
New Mexico$81
Virginia$76
Missouri$75
Texas$64
Indiana$51
North Carolina$50
Ohio$49
Oregon$45
Wisconsin$28
Vermont$27
Rhode Island$25
South Carolina$25
New Jersey$17
Hawaii$14
Minnesota$12
Alabama$10
Tennessee$10
Arizona$8
District of Columbia$5
Maine$3
Delaware$2
Montana$2
Connecticut$1
Louisiana$1
AlaskaNo data
New HampshireNo data
IdahoNo data
North DakotaNo data
NevadaNo data
WyomingNo data
South DakotaNo data
UtahNo data
NebraskaNo data
KentuckyNo data
West VirginiaNo data
KansasNo data
OklahomaNo data
MississippiNo data
325

itemized donors

People who gave more than $200

84%

from Iowa

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 Iowa. 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. IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY$41.4K
  2. NORTHWEST DES MOINES DEMOCRATS$3,000
  3. DALLAS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEE$500
  4. IOWA UNITY COALITION$500
  5. LOCAL UNION NO 347 IBEW PAC FUND$500

Top employers

Itemized, 2026 cycle.

No employers reported.

Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.

Back to topNext: Votes

Votes

Hardman voted with the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats on 93.7% of party-line votes and missed 5.6% of 302 roll calls. Iowa Senate on average: 95.7% party unity, 93.9% attendance. Across all roll calls, Hardman voted against the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats 9 times.

302 roll calls Hardman could vote on in the IA 2025–26 session, compared with Iowa 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 Hardman voted with the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.

9

votes against the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats

Party unity 93.7%, Iowa Senate average 95.7%, ranks 37th of 49. 302 roll calls in the IA 2025–26 session.

Attendance and party unity

The thick bar is Hardman, the thin grey bar the Iowa Senate average. The scale runs from 80% to 100% to show the gap.

80%100%
Hardman
Peers
Rank
Attendance
94.3%
93.9%
33rd of 49
Party unity
93.7%
95.7%
37th of 49
Show the data
Hardman's attendance and party unity against Iowa Senate.
RowHardmanPeers
Attendance94.3%93.9%
Party unity93.7%95.7%
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 IA 2025–26 session

Key votes
Party split (yea–nay)Why it’s key
Oct 2, 2026
HF 2801
A bill for an act modifying the major economic growth attraction program, and including effective date provisions.
Shall the bill pass?
NayWith majoritypassD 2–13 · R 26–6Democrats 2 yea, 13 nay; Republicans 26 yea, 6 naybecame law · party crossover
May 3, 2026
SF 2472
A bill for an act relating to state and local government taxes, fees, financial authority, and budgets, by modifying property assessment provisions, divisions of revenue, and funding from the secure an advanced vision for education fund, establishing a program for first-time homebuyers, modifying an
Shall the bill pass?
YeaWith majoritypassD 11–1 · R 30–0Democrats 11 yea, 1 nay; Republicans 30 yea, 0 naybecame law
May 3, 2026
HF 2788
A bill for an act relating to abortions including definitions, informed consent, dispensing of abortion-inducing drugs, and other abortion-related provisions.
Shall the bill pass?
NayWith majoritypassD 0–11 · R 30–0Democrats 0 yea, 11 nay; Republicans 30 yea, 0 naybecame law
May 2, 2026
HF 2765
A bill for an act providing for the regulation of mining, making penalties applicable, and including effective date provisions.
Shall the bill pass?
YeaWith majoritypassD 15–0 · R 31–0Democrats 15 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 31 yea, 0 naybecame law
May 2, 2026
HF 1036
A bill for an act relating to human trafficking, including screening children, civil statutes of limitations, an annual stakeholder meeting and report, depositions of victims, restitution, restorative facilities and protective services, and investigation and prosecution, and including effective date
Shall the bill pass?
YeaWith majoritypassD 14–0 · R 31–0Democrats 14 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 31 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 Hardman most often

  1. Cindy WincklerD285 shared votes96%
  2. Janice WeinerD274 shared votes96%
  3. Matt BlakeD263 shared votes95%
  4. Janet PetersenD282 shared votes95%
  5. Catelin DreyD279 shared votes95%

Votes least often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Hardman least often

  1. Jack WhitverR245 shared votes66%
  2. Mark CostelloR283 shared votes67%
  3. Dennis GuthR259 shared votes67%
  4. Tom ShipleyR285 shared votes67%
  5. Amy SinclairR261 shared votes67%
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

IA 2025–26 session, loads in batches

Back to topNext: Legislation

Legislation

Hardman sponsored 22 bills in the IA 2025–26 session; none became law. Cosponsored 0 others. 4.5% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Iowa Senate average 11%; 28th of 48).

The bills Hardman sponsored and cosponsored in the IA 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 IA 2025–26 session

Sponsored22 billsSponsored, Introduced: 2222Sponsored, In committee: 2222Sponsored, Passed one chamber: 11Sponsored, Passed both chambers: 00Sponsored, Became law: 00Cosponsored0 billsCosponsored, Introduced: 00Cosponsored, In committee: 00Cosponsored, Passed one chamber: 00Cosponsored, Passed both chambers: 00Cosponsored, Became law: 00IntroducedIncommitteePassed onechamberPassed bothchambersBecamelaw
Show the data
Bills Hardman sponsored and cosponsored, by furthest stage reached
RoleIntroducedIn committeePassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law
Sponsored2222100
Cosponsored00000
How to read the blocks

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

4.5%

of sponsored bills got out of committee

Iowa Senate average 11%. Ranks 28th of 48.

Cosponsorship partners

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

  1. Janet Petersen21
  2. Art Staed20
  3. Molly Donahue20
  4. Mike Zimmer19
  5. Bill Dotzler19
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 Hardman’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
SF 2360A bill for an act relating to partial payments of property taxes and including applicability provisions.SponsorFeb 17, 2026In committeeTaxation(model)Subcommittee: Dawson, Bisignano, and Gruenhagen. Feb 24, 2026
SF 2350A bill for an act relating to the use of automatic registration plate readers, and providing penalties.SponsorFeb 16, 2026In committeeCrime and Law Enforcement(model)Subcommittee: Schultz, Blake, and Bousselot. Feb 17, 2026
SF 2272A bill for an act providing for a veterans’ benefits and services poster for employers to display in the workplace.SponsorFeb 11, 2026In committeeArmed Forces and National Security(model)Subcommittee: Reichman, Costello, and Townsend. Feb 12, 2026
SF 2241A bill for an act relating to charter school requirements, including reporting requirements, governance standards, financial accountability, and oversight by the state board of education.SponsorFeb 10, 2026In committeeEducation(model)Subcommittee: Sinclair, Donahue, and Pike. Feb 16, 2026
SF 2249A bill for an act relating to customer classes for large energy use facilities, and including applicability provisions.SponsorFeb 10, 2026In committeeEnergy(model)Subcommittee: Driscoll, Petersen, and Reichman. Feb 12, 2026

Back to topNext: Online

Online

The lab crawls Hardman’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 Hardman posts with a vision model.

Websites

No websites are tracked for this official.

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

No social accounts on file.

Images Hardman posted

No images from Hardman’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

34 turns, Jan 20, 2026 to May 3, 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 Hardman is most unusual among Iowa Senate, 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. That is the case for Hardman in this window. The wording always names the direction (“in the bottom 5% of …”, “votes against the majority of …”).

Identifiers

Profile id
6d119d13-56ee-4aef-a7b0-602efef0b995
Open States
ocd-person/6d119d13-56ee-4aef-a7b0-602efef0b995

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

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