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Republican · West Virginia House, district 39

Serving since Dec 1, 2022WV 2025–26 session

Portrait of Doug Smith, rendered as a two-tone print
Official portrait
10%
of roll calls missed, attendance in the bottom quarter of the West Virginia House

Attendance 90%; the average within the West Virginia House is 95.6%. Ranks 86th of 96, where 1st has the highest attendance. 1,396 roll calls in the WV 2025–26 session.

Attendance is the share of the roll calls Smith could vote on where a yea, nay or present was recorded, ranked within the West Virginia House. A missed vote has many causes, from illness to campaigning; the number says how often, not why.

At a glance

6 measures against the West Virginia House. 5.9% of the 287 bills Smith sponsored got out of committee, in the bottom quarter of the West Virginia House. 100% of Smith’s itemized money in the 2024 cycle came from West Virginia, in the top quarter of State House Republicans.

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

Attendance

90%

West Virginia House average 95.6% · ranks 86th of 96 · 1,396 roll calls

Out of committee

5.9%

West Virginia House average 22% · ranks 71st of 84

From West Virginia, 2024

100%

Of itemized individual dollars · ranks 51st of 214 State House Republicans

Itemized, 2024

$6,054

State House Republicans’ median $10.7K · ranks 148th of 240

Party unity

90%

West Virginia House average 86% · ranks 41st of 96 · 44 votes against the majority of West Virginia House Republicans

CSIP ideology

+0.34

More liberal than 52% of State House Republicans · ± 0.06

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

Back to topNext: What politicians say

What Smith says

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

Back to topNext: Ideology

Ideology

Smith sits at +0.34 on the CSIP scale, right of 0, more liberal than 52% of State House Republicans. Approximate range +0.28 to +0.40, which understates the uncertainty; from 15 donors and 573 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”.

+0.34

CSIP ideal point

Approximate range +0.28 to +0.40. From 15 donors and 573 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.

← More liberalMore conservative →0Smith +0.3State House Republicans +0.4West Virginia House +0.3All State House +0.1

The outlined dot is Smith, 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 Smith’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 Smith 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 +0.4Smith +0.3West Virginia Housemedian +0.3All State Housemedian +0.1
Show the data
Smith's CSIP score of +0.34 placed against State House Republicans, West Virginia House, All State House.
GroupOfficialsMedianShare left of Smith
State House Republicans2917+0.447%
West Virginia House97+0.371%
All State House5324+0.171%
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 Smith 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 Smith.

Back to topNext: Money

Money

Smith reported $6,054 in the 2024 cycle, below the State House Republicans’ median of $10.7K. State filings report no small-donation total. 100% of itemized individual money came from West Virginia.

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
$6,054

itemized in the 2024 cycle

From 2 itemized donors. State House Republicans’ median $10.7K.

Where the money came from

Each square is one percent of itemized contributions in the 2024 cycle.

Individuals (itemized): $604 (10.0%)Individuals (itemized): $604 (10.0%)Individuals (itemized): $604 (10.0%)Individuals (itemized): $604 (10.0%)Individuals (itemized): $604 (10.0%)Individuals (itemized): $604 (10.0%)Individuals (itemized): $604 (10.0%)Individuals (itemized): $604 (10.0%)Individuals (itemized): $604 (10.0%)Individuals (itemized): $604 (10.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)PACs and other committees: $5,450 (90.0%)
  • Individuals (itemized)10 squares$604
  • PACs and other committees90 squares$5,450
Show the data
Sources of Smith's money, 2024 cycle, one square per percent
SourceAmountShare
Individuals (itemized)$60410.0%
PACs and other committees$5,45090.0%
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 2024. The grey line is the State House Republicans’ median for 2024.

2020 cycle: $16.9K$16.9K20202022 cycle: $5,700$5,70020222024 cycle: $6,054$6,0542024State House Republicans median $10.7K
Show the data
Smith's receipts by cycle against the 2024 State House Republicans median.
ItemValue
2020 cycle$16.9K
2022 cycle$5,700
2024 cycle$6,054

Top donor states, 2024

Itemized contributions by donor state. 100% came from West Virginia.

  1. West Virginia$604

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: $604WVVirginia: 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
Smith's itemized individual contributions by donor state, 2024 cycle
StateValue
West Virginia$604
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
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
2

itemized donors

People who gave more than $200

100%

from West Virginia

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 West Virginia. Gifts of $200 or less carry no address and are left out.

Top donor occupations

Itemized, 2024 cycle.

No occupations reported.

Top committees

PAC and committee contributions, 2024 cycle.

  1. WEST VIRGINIA AUTO AND TRUCK DEALERS (WV CAR PAC)$2,000
  2. WEST VIRGINIA BEER WHOLESALERS PAC (WV BW PAC)$1,000
  3. WEST VIRGINIA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION (HOSPAC)$500
  4. WEST VIRGINIA OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION PAC$500
  5. WEST VIRGINIA TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION (LAWPAC)$500

Top employers

Itemized, 2024 cycle.

No employers reported.

Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.

Back to topNext: Votes

Votes

Smith voted with the majority of West Virginia House Republicans on 90% of party-line votes and missed 10% of 1,396 roll calls. West Virginia House on average: 86% party unity, 95.6% attendance. Across all roll calls, Smith voted against the majority of West Virginia House Republicans 44 times.

1,396 roll calls Smith could vote on in the WV 2025–26 session, compared with West Virginia 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 Smith voted with the majority of West Virginia House Republicans. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.

44

votes against the majority of West Virginia House Republicans

Party unity 90%, West Virginia House average 86%, ranks 41st of 96. 1,396 roll calls in the WV 2025–26 session.

Attendance and party unity

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

80%100%
Smith
Peers
Rank
Attendance
90%
95.6%
86th of 96
Party unity
90%
86%
41st of 96
Show the data
Smith's attendance and party unity against West Virginia House.
RowSmithPeers
Attendance90%95.6%
Party unity90%86%
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 WV 2025–26 session

Key votes
Party split (yea–nay)Why it’s key
Mar 14, 2026
SB 952
Transferring Court Security Fund
PASSAGE
Did not vote—passD 9–0 · R 85–0Democrats 9 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 85 yea, 0 naybecame law
Mar 14, 2026
HB 4538
Regarding fines in DOH work zones
PASSAGE-SENATE AMENDED HB
YeaWith majoritypassD 9–0 · R 88–0Democrats 9 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 88 yea, 0 naybecame law
Mar 14, 2026
HB 5462
Relating to Mine Subsidence
PASSAGE-SENATE AMENDED HB
YeaWith majoritypassD 0–9 · R 86–2Democrats 0 yea, 9 nay; Republicans 86 yea, 2 naybecame law
Mar 14, 2026
HB 5441
Reforming State Personnel System
EFFECT Jul 01, 2026
YeaWith majoritypassD 3–6 · R 71–17Democrats 3 yea, 6 nay; Republicans 71 yea, 17 naybecame law · party crossover
Mar 14, 2026
HB 5381
Relating to developing a comprehensive energy development policy and plan for the Office of Energy
PREVIOUS QUESTION
YeaWith majoritypassD 9–0 · R 47–34Democrats 9 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 47 yea, 34 naybecame law · party crossover
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 Smith most often

  1. Jimmy WillisR1,217 shared votes97%
  2. John Paul HottR1,249 shared votes96%
  3. Jordan MaynorR1,227 shared votes96%
  4. Kathie Hess CrouseR1,240 shared votes96%
  5. Chris PhillipsR1,235 shared votes96%

Votes least often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Smith least often

  1. Corby DillonR1,223 shared votes74%
  2. Chris AndersR1,232 shared votes75%
  3. Mike PushkinD1,243 shared votes80%
  4. Hollis LewisD1,232 shared votes80%
  5. Evan HansenD1,246 shared votes81%
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

WV 2025–26 session, loads in batches

Back to topNext: Legislation

Legislation

Smith sponsored 287 bills in the WV 2025–26 session; 13 became law. Cosponsored 59 others. 5.9% of sponsored bills got out of committee (West Virginia House average 22%; 71st of 84).

The bills Smith sponsored and cosponsored in the WV 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 WV 2025–26 session

Sponsored287 billsSponsored, Introduced: 287287Sponsored, In committee: 287287Sponsored, Passed one chamber: 1717Sponsored, Passed both chambers: 1414Sponsored, Became law: 1313Cosponsored59 billsCosponsored, Introduced: 5959Cosponsored, In committee: 5959Cosponsored, Passed one chamber: 2424Cosponsored, Passed both chambers: 1414Cosponsored, Became law: 88IntroducedIncommitteePassed onechamberPassed bothchambersBecamelaw
Show the data
Bills Smith sponsored and cosponsored, by furthest stage reached
RoleIntroducedIn committeePassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law
Sponsored287287171413
Cosponsored595924148
How to read the blocks

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

5.9%

of sponsored bills got out of committee

West Virginia House average 22%. Ranks 71st of 84.

Cosponsorship partners

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

  1. Mike Hornby37
  2. Kathie Hess Crouse24
  3. Scot Heckert23
  4. Chuck Horst18
  5. Chuck Sheedy16
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 Smith’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
HCR 31Urging the United States Congress to recognize United States Armed Forces members who served in Honduras from 1981 to 1992 by authorizing the issuance of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.CosponsorMar 10, 2026In committeeArmed Forces and National Security(model)To House Rules Mar 10, 2026
HR 22Requesting that Congress put a coking plant and power plant in West Virginia.CosponsorMar 5, 2026In committeeEnergy(model)To House Rules Mar 5, 2026
HCR 29Requesting Joint Committee study the feasibility of establishing a flexible, short-duration, on-demand respite care program for seniors and caregiversCosponsorMar 5, 2026In committeeHealth(model)To House Rules Mar 5, 2026
HCR 30Urging the United States Congress to pass the Major Richard Star ActCosponsorMar 5, 2026In committeeArmed Forces and National Security(model)To House Rules Mar 5, 2026
HR 21Recognizing President Donald J. Trump for reforms benefiting West VirginiaCosponsorMar 3, 2026In committeeUnassignedTo House Rules Mar 3, 2026

Back to topNext: Online

Online

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

The lab crawls Smith’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 Smith 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 Smith posted

No images from Smith’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

No transcribed state floor speeches are matched to this legislator yet.

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 Smith is most unusual among West Virginia House, 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
70ac0a53-79d8-426b-950b-83e9be022bf3
Open States
ocd-person/70ac0a53-79d8-426b-950b-83e9be022bf3

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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