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Republican · Utah House, district 15

Serving since Nov 15, 2023UT 2025–26 session

Portrait of Ariel Defay, rendered as a two-tone print
Official portrait
39%
of itemized money from Utah donors, in the bottom tenth of State House Republicans

39% of the itemized money from individuals in the 2026 cycle came from donors with an address in Utah. Ranks 2195th of 2,335, where 1st is the highest share. 3 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 Utah, 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. 88% of the 17 bills Defay sponsored got out of committee, in the top quarter of the Utah House. Defay voted against the majority of Utah House Republicans 21 times; party unity 83%, in the bottom quarter of the Utah House (average 89%).

The measures on which Defay 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 Utah, 2026

39%

Of itemized individual dollars · ranks 2195th of 2,335 State House Republicans

Out of committee

88%

Utah House average 70% · ranks 13th of 67

Party unity

83%

Utah House average 89% · ranks 56th of 71 · 21 votes against the majority of Utah House Republicans

CSIP ideology

+0.17

More liberal than 78% of State House Republicans · ± 0.05

Itemized, 2026

$14.4K

State House Republicans’ median $33.7K · ranks 1756th of 2,521

Attendance

92.4%

Utah House average 90.7% · ranks 40th of 71 · 832 roll calls

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

Back to topNext: What politicians say

What Defay says

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

Back to topNext: Ideology

Ideology

Defay sits at +0.17 on the CSIP scale, right of 0, more liberal than 78% of State House Republicans. Approximate range +0.12 to +0.22, which understates the uncertainty; from 5 donors and 412 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”.

+0.17

CSIP ideal point

Approximate range +0.12 to +0.22. From 5 donors and 412 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.

← More liberalMore conservative →0Defay +0.2State House Republicans +0.4Utah House +0.3All State House +0.1

The outlined dot is Defay, 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 Defay’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 Defay 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 +0.4Defay +0.2Utah Housemedian +0.3All State Housemedian +0.1
Show the data
Defay's CSIP score of +0.17 placed against State House Republicans, Utah House, All State House.
GroupOfficialsMedianShare left of Defay
State House Republicans2917+0.422%
Utah House72+0.331%
All State House5324+0.157%
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 Defay 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 Defay.

Back to topNext: Money

Money

Defay reported $14.4K in the 2026 cycle, below the State House Republicans’ median of $33.7K. State filings report no small-donation total. 39% of itemized individual money came from Utah.

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
$14.4K

itemized in the 2026 cycle

From 3 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): $1,650 (11.5%)Individuals (itemized): $1,650 (11.5%)Individuals (itemized): $1,650 (11.5%)Individuals (itemized): $1,650 (11.5%)Individuals (itemized): $1,650 (11.5%)Individuals (itemized): $1,650 (11.5%)Individuals (itemized): $1,650 (11.5%)Individuals (itemized): $1,650 (11.5%)Individuals (itemized): $1,650 (11.5%)Individuals (itemized): $1,650 (11.5%)Individuals (itemized): $1,650 (11.5%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)PACs and other committees: $11.8K (81.6%)Party committees: $1,000 (6.9%)Party committees: $1,000 (6.9%)Party committees: $1,000 (6.9%)Party committees: $1,000 (6.9%)Party committees: $1,000 (6.9%)Party committees: $1,000 (6.9%)Party committees: $1,000 (6.9%)
  • Individuals (itemized)11 squares$1,650
  • PACs and other committees82 squares$11.8K
  • Party committees7 squares$1,000
Show the data
Sources of Defay's money, 2026 cycle, one square per percent
SourceAmountShare
Individuals (itemized)$1,65011.5%
PACs and other committees$11.8K81.6%
Party committees$1,0006.9%
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: $16.0K$16.0K20242026 cycle: $14.4K$14.4K2026State House Republicans median $33.7K
Show the data
Defay's receipts by cycle against the 2026 State House Republicans median.
ItemValue
2024 cycle$16.0K
2026 cycle$14.4K

Top donor states, 2026

Itemized contributions by donor state. 39% came from Utah.

  1. California$1,000
  2. Utah$650

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: $1,000CAUtah: $650UTColorado: 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
Defay's itemized individual contributions by donor state, 2026 cycle
StateValue
California$1,000
Utah$650
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
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
3

itemized donors

People who gave more than $200

39%

from Utah

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 Utah. 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. UTAH ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS$3,000
  2. REPUBLICAN WOMEN LEAD$1,500
  3. DAVIS COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY$1,000
  4. ELECT BRIDGER BOLINDER$1,000
  5. UTAH BANKERS ASSOCIATION$1,000

Top employers

Itemized, 2026 cycle.

No employers reported.

Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.

Back to topNext: Votes

Votes

Defay voted with the majority of Utah House Republicans on 83% of party-line votes and missed 7.6% of 832 roll calls. Utah House on average: 89% party unity, 90.7% attendance. Across all roll calls, Defay voted against the majority of Utah House Republicans 21 times.

832 roll calls Defay could vote on in the UT 2025–26 session, compared with Utah 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 Defay voted with the majority of Utah House Republicans. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.

21

votes against the majority of Utah House Republicans

Party unity 83%, Utah House average 89%, ranks 56th of 71. 832 roll calls in the UT 2025–26 session.

Attendance and party unity

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

80%100%
Defay
Peers
Rank
Attendance
92.4%
90.7%
40th of 71
Party unity
83%
89%
56th of 71
Show the data
Defay's attendance and party unity against Utah House.
RowDefayPeers
Attendance92.4%90.7%
Party unity83%89%
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 UT 2025–26 session

Key votes
Party split (yea–nay)Why it’s key
Mar 7, 2026
HB 306
Reinvestment Fee Amendments
House/ concurs with Senate amendment
YeaWith majoritypassD 13–0 · R 44–1Democrats 13 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 44 yea, 1 naybecame law · much discussed
Mar 7, 2026
HCR 2
Concurrent Resolution Authorizing Adult Sentencing and Supervision Length Guidelines and Juvenile Disposition Guidelines
House/ concurs with Senate amendment
YeaWith majoritypassD 12–0 · R 52–0Democrats 12 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 52 yea, 0 naybecame law
Mar 7, 2026
HB 377
Real Estate Amendments
House/ concurs with Senate amendment
YeaWith majoritypassD 3–11 · R 50–2Democrats 3 yea, 11 nay; Republicans 50 yea, 2 naybecame law · party crossover
Mar 7, 2026
HB 260
Unauthorized Practice of Law Amendments
House/ concurs with Senate amendment
YeaWith majoritypassD 14–0 · R 57–1Democrats 14 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 57 yea, 1 naybecame law
Mar 7, 2026
SB 184
Justice System Amendments
House/ passed 3rd reading
YeaWith majoritypassD 13–0 · R 50–1Democrats 13 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 50 yea, 1 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 Defay most often

  1. Cal RobertsR584 shared votes98%
  2. Melissa BallardR708 shared votes98%
  3. Paul CutlerR741 shared votes97%
  4. Dave ShallenbergerR585 shared votes97%
  5. Colin JackR723 shared votes97%

Votes least often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Defay least often

  1. Leah HansenR734 shared votes45%
  2. Angela RomeroD726 shared votes85%
  3. Rosalba DominguezD737 shared votes86%
  4. Kristen ChevrierR675 shared votes86%
  5. Sandra HollinsD736 shared votes86%
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

UT 2025–26 session, loads in batches

Back to topNext: Legislation

Legislation

Defay sponsored 17 bills in the UT 2025–26 session; 14 became law. Cosponsored 7 others. 88% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Utah House average 70%; 13th of 67).

The bills Defay sponsored and cosponsored in the UT 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 UT 2025–26 session

Sponsored17 billsSponsored, Introduced: 1717Sponsored, In committee: 1717Sponsored, Passed one chamber: 1515Sponsored, Passed both chambers: 1414Sponsored, Became law: 1414Cosponsored7 billsCosponsored, Introduced: 77Cosponsored, In committee: 77Cosponsored, Passed one chamber: 66Cosponsored, Passed both chambers: 66Cosponsored, Became law: 66IntroducedIncommitteePassed onechamberPassed bothchambersBecamelaw
Show the data
Bills Defay sponsored and cosponsored, by furthest stage reached
RoleIntroducedIn committeePassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law
Sponsored1717151414
Cosponsored77666
How to read the blocks

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

88%

of sponsored bills got out of committee

Utah House average 70%. Ranks 13th of 67.

Cosponsorship partners

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

  1. Jen Plumb3
  2. Kirk Cullimore3
  3. Lincoln Fillmore2
  4. Mike McKell2
  5. Wayne Harper2
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 Defay’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
SJR 17Resolution Encouraging Innovation in Legislative Analysis and Information ServicesCosponsorMar 7, 2026In committeeGovernment Operations and Politics(model)Senate/ filed Mar 7, 2026
SB 290Victim and Witness Privacy AmendmentsCosponsorFeb 12, 2026Became lawCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues(model)Governor Signed Mar 23, 2026
HB 393Early Intervention for Dyslexia AmendmentsSponsorJan 27, 2026Became lawEducation(model)Governor Signed Mar 19, 2026
HB 329State Employee Maternity and Leave AmendmentsSponsorJan 22, 2026Became lawLabor and Employment(model)Governor Signed Mar 24, 2026
HB 306Reinvestment Fee AmendmentsSponsorJan 21, 2026Became lawHousing and Community Development(model)Governor Signed Mar 18, 2026

Back to topNext: Online

Online

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

The lab crawls Defay’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 Defay 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 Defay posted

No images from Defay’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

8 turns, Jan 21, 2026 to Mar 6, 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 Defay 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
6d3d4043-1ec3-454c-a517-4036722c50ee
Open States
ocd-person/6d3d4043-1ec3-454c-a517-4036722c50ee

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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