Skip to content

Democrat · Florida House, district 64

Serving since Nov 8, 2022FL 2025–26 session

Portrait of Susan Valdés, rendered as a two-tone print
Official portrait
95%
of State House Democrats score to the left of Valdés on the CSIP scale

CSIP score −0.25 (approximate range −0.26 to −0.23, which understates the uncertainty); negative is left of the scale’s centre, positive right. From 133 donors and 912 roll calls.

CSIP places every official on one left–right scale estimated from roll-call votes, campaign donations and the text of statements; 0 is the centre of the scale, not a definition of moderate. The share says where Valdés sits among State House Democrats, not how far from the centre.

At a glance

6 measures against State House Democrats. Valdés reported $53.6K in the 2024 cycle, in the top tenth of State House Democrats (median $5,075). Valdés voted against the majority of Florida House Democrats 14 times; party unity 91.1%, in the bottom quarter of the Florida House (average 94.7%).

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

CSIP ideology

−0.25

More conservative than 95% of State House Democrats · ± 0.02

Itemized, 2024

$53.6K

State House Democrats’ median $5,075 · ranks 16th of 163

Party unity

91.1%

Florida House average 94.7% · ranks 97th of 116 · 14 votes against the majority of Florida House Democrats

From Florida, 2024

86%

Of itemized individual dollars · ranks 97th of 149 State House Democrats

Attendance

96.3%

Florida House average 94.0% · ranks 66th of 116 · 817 roll calls

Out of committee

54%

Florida House average 56% · ranks 64th of 110

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

Back to topNext: What politicians say

What Valdés says

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

Back to topNext: Ideology

Ideology

Valdés sits at −0.25 on the CSIP scale, left of 0, more conservative than 95% of State House Democrats. Approximate range −0.26 to −0.23, which understates the uncertainty; from 133 donors and 912 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”.

−0.25

CSIP ideal point

Approximate range −0.26 to −0.23. From 133 donors and 912 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.

← More liberalMore conservative →0Valdés −0.2State House Democrats −0.6Florida House +0.4All State House +0.1

The outlined dot is Valdés, 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 Valdés’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 Valdés sits

Every official in each group, on the CSIP scale

−2.0−1.00.0+1.0+2.0← More liberalMore conservative →State House Democratsmedian −0.6Valdés −0.2Florida Housemedian +0.4All State Housemedian +0.1
Show the data
Valdés's CSIP score of −0.25 placed against State House Democrats, Florida House, All State House.
GroupOfficialsMedianShare left of Valdés
State House Democrats2392−0.695%
Florida House116+0.428%
All State House5324+0.143%
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 Valdés 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 Valdés.

Back to topNext: Money

Money

Valdés reported $53.6K in the 2024 cycle, 10.6 times the State House Democrats’ median of $5,075. State filings report no small-donation total. 86% of itemized individual money came from Florida.

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
$53.6K

itemized in the 2024 cycle

From 65 itemized donors. State House Democrats’ median $5,075.

Where the money came from

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

Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)Individuals (itemized): $20.1K (37.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)PACs and other committees: $33.5K (62.5%)
  • Individuals (itemized)38 squares$20.1K
  • PACs and other committees62 squares$33.5K
Show the data
Sources of Valdés's money, 2024 cycle, one square per percent
SourceAmountShare
Individuals (itemized)$20.1K37.5%
PACs and other committees$33.5K62.5%
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 Democrats’ median for 2024.

2020 cycle: $50.3K$50.3K20202022 cycle: $45.8K$45.8K20222024 cycle: $53.6K$53.6K2024State House Democrats median $5,075
Show the data
Valdés's receipts by cycle against the 2024 State House Democrats median.
ItemValue
2020 cycle$50.3K
2022 cycle$45.8K
2024 cycle$53.6K

Top donor states, 2024

Itemized contributions by donor state. 86% came from Florida.

  1. Florida$17.3K
  2. New York$1,000
  3. California$1,000
  4. Illinois$250
  5. Arkansas$100

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: $250ILWisconsin: no dataWIMichigan: no dataMINew York: $1,000NYRhode 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: $100CTCalifornia: $1,000CAUtah: no dataUTColorado: no dataCONebraska: no dataNEMissouri: no dataMOKentucky: no dataKYWest Virginia: no dataWVVirginia: no dataVAMaryland: no dataMDDelaware: no dataDEArizona: no dataAZNew Mexico: no dataNMKansas: no dataKSArkansas: $100ARTennessee: 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: $17.3KFL
Show the data
Valdés's itemized individual contributions by donor state, 2024 cycle
StateValue
Florida$17.3K
New York$1,000
California$1,000
Illinois$250
Connecticut$100
Arkansas$100
AlaskaNo data
MaineNo data
VermontNo data
New HampshireNo data
WashingtonNo data
IdahoNo data
MontanaNo data
North DakotaNo data
MinnesotaNo data
WisconsinNo data
MichiganNo 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
UtahNo data
ColoradoNo data
NebraskaNo data
MissouriNo data
KentuckyNo data
West VirginiaNo data
VirginiaNo data
MarylandNo data
DelawareNo data
ArizonaNo data
New MexicoNo data
KansasNo data
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
65

itemized donors

People who gave more than $200

86%

from Florida

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

Top donor occupations

Itemized, 2024 cycle.

  1. ATTORNEY$2,250 3 donors
  2. RETIRED$2,250 5 donors

Top committees

PAC and committee contributions, 2024 cycle.

  1. 1199 SEIU FLORIDA POLITICAL COMMITTEE$2,000
  2. LOCAL UNION 915 IBEW POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$2,000
  3. PLUMBERS & PIPEFITTERS LOCAL 123 PAC FUND$2,000
  4. TEAMSTERS LOCAL UNION 79 PAC$2,000
  5. 78 POLITICAL COMMITTEE$1,500

Top employers

Itemized, 2024 cycle.

No employers reported.

Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.

Back to topNext: Votes

Votes

Valdés voted with the majority of Florida House Democrats on 91.1% of party-line votes and missed 3.7% of 817 roll calls. Florida House on average: 94.7% party unity, 94.0% attendance. Across all roll calls, Valdés voted against the majority of Florida House Democrats 14 times.

817 roll calls Valdés could vote on in the FL 2025–26 session, compared with Florida 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 Valdés voted with the majority of Florida House Democrats. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.

14

votes against the majority of Florida House Democrats

Party unity 91.1%, Florida House average 94.7%, ranks 97th of 116. 817 roll calls in the FL 2025–26 session.

Attendance and party unity

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

80%100%
Valdés
Peers
Rank
Attendance
96.3%
94.0%
66th of 116
Party unity
91.1%
94.7%
97th of 116
Show the data
Valdés's attendance and party unity against Florida House.
RowValdésPeers
Attendance96.3%94.0%
Party unity91.1%94.7%
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 FL 2025–26 session

Key votes
Party split (yea–nay)Why it’s key
Jun 2, 2026
SB 4F
Property Tax Administration
Passage, Third Reading
YeaWith majoritypassD 1–26 · R 74–1Democrats 1 yea, 26 nay; Republicans 74 yea, 1 naybecame law
May 12, 2026
HB 5501E
Documentary Stamp Tax Distributions
Passage, Third Reading
YeaWith majoritypassD 24–3 · R 79–0Democrats 24 yea, 3 nay; Republicans 79 yea, 0 nayparty crossover
May 12, 2026
HB 5001E
General Appropriations Act
Passage, Third Reading
YeaWith majoritypassD 19–8 · R 79–0Democrats 19 yea, 8 nay; Republicans 79 yea, 0 nayparty crossover
May 12, 2026
HB 5003E
Implementing the 2026-2027 General Appropriations Act
Passage, Third Reading
YeaWith majoritypassD 14–12 · R 78–1Democrats 14 yea, 12 nay; Republicans 78 yea, 1 nayparty crossover
May 12, 2026
SB 2508E
State Agency Law Enforcement Radio System
Passage, Third Reading
YeaWith majoritypassD 25–3 · R 78–0Democrats 25 yea, 3 nay; Republicans 78 yea, 0 nayparty 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 Valdés most often

  1. Nathan BoylesR405 shared votes99%
  2. Monique MillerR763 shared votes98%
  3. Chuck BrannanR763 shared votes98%
  4. Lawrence McClureR757 shared votes98%
  5. Adam BotanaR761 shared votes98%

Votes least often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Valdés least often

  1. Angie NixonD730 shared votes75%
  2. Michele RaynerD675 shared votes77%
  3. Ashley GanttD757 shared votes78%
  4. Felicia RobinsonD728 shared votes79%
  5. Anna EskamaniD786 shared votes80%
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

FL 2025–26 session, loads in batches

Back to topNext: Legislation

Legislation

Valdés sponsored 28 bills in the FL 2025–26 session; 2 became law. Cosponsored 138 others. 54% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Florida House average 56%; 64th of 110).

The bills Valdés sponsored and cosponsored in the FL 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 FL 2025–26 session

Sponsored28 billsSponsored, Introduced: 2828Sponsored, In committee: 2727Sponsored, Passed one chamber: 88Sponsored, Passed both chambers: 44Sponsored, Became law: 22Cosponsored138 billsCosponsored, Introduced: 138138Cosponsored, In committee: 138138Cosponsored, Passed one chamber: 9797Cosponsored, Passed both chambers: 6868Cosponsored, Became law: 5959IntroducedIncommitteePassed onechamberPassed bothchambersBecamelaw
Show the data
Bills Valdés sponsored and cosponsored, by furthest stage reached
RoleIntroducedIn committeePassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law
Sponsored2827842
Cosponsored138138976859
How to read the blocks

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

54%

of sponsored bills got out of committee

Florida House average 56%. Ranks 64th of 110.

Cosponsorship partners

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

  1. Johanna López69
  2. Alex Rizo37
  3. Jim Mooney31
  4. Michelle Salzman29
  5. Anna Eskamani28
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 Valdés’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
HB 7031Internal Revenue CodeCosponsorFeb 26, 2026Became lawTaxation(model)Chapter No. 2026-137 Jun 12, 2026
HB 1503Computer Science Education and CertificationCosponsorJan 9, 2026Passed both chambersEducation(model)Died in returning Messages Mar 13, 2026
HB 1443Parkinson's Disease RegistryCosponsorJan 9, 2026Became lawHealth(model)Chapter No. 2026-9; Companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 1445 (Ch. 2026-10) Mar 30, 2026
HB 1549Penalties for Driving Under the InfluenceSponsorJan 9, 2026In committeeCrime and Law Enforcement(model)Died in Criminal Justice Subcommittee Mar 13, 2026
HB 1337EstatesCosponsorJan 9, 2026Became lawLaw(model)Chapter No. 2026-57 Apr 30, 2026

Back to topNext: Online

Online

A site that changed 2 times in 90 days. Valdés’s official site had 1 page when last crawled on Oct 1, 2026.

The lab crawls Valdés’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 Valdés 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 Valdés posted

No images from Valdés’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

162 turns, Jan 22, 2020 to Mar 12, 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 Valdés is most unusual among State House 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
811dfa67-2615-4d45-9cf9-bd1a587a34fe
Open States
ocd-person/811dfa67-2615-4d45-9cf9-bd1a587a34fe

Bulk files with the same data for every official:

Freshness of this profile’s data

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

How the measures work

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

America’s Political Pulse · Polarization Research Lab

Back to top