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Democrat · Oregon Senate, district 25

Serving since Jan 11, 2021OR 2025–26 session

Portrait of Chris Gorsek, rendered as a two-tone print
Official portrait
11%
of roll calls missed, attendance in the bottom quarter of the Oregon Senate

Attendance 89%; the average within the Oregon Senate is 94.2%. Ranks 27th of 30, where 1st has the highest attendance. 1,003 roll calls in the OR 2025–26 session.

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

At a glance

5 measures against the Oregon Senate. Gorsek reported $9,500 in the 2026 cycle, in the bottom quarter of State Senate Democrats (median $55.5K). Gorsek sits at −0.87 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 79% of State Senate Democrats.

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

Attendance

89%

Oregon Senate average 94.2% · ranks 27th of 30 · 1,003 roll calls

Itemized, 2026

$9,500

State Senate Democrats’ median $55.5K · ranks 619th of 746

CSIP ideology

−0.87

More liberal than 79% of State Senate Democrats · ± 0.08

Out of committee

44%

Oregon Senate average 50% · ranks 21st of 30

Party unity

97.8%

Oregon Senate average 93.3% · ranks 17th of 30 · 8 votes against the majority of Oregon Senate Democrats

Statements

No statements in this window

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

Back to topNext: What politicians say

What Gorsek says

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

Back to topNext: Ideology

Ideology

Gorsek sits at −0.87 on the CSIP scale, left of 0, more liberal than 79% of State Senate Democrats. Approximate range −0.95 to −0.80, which understates the uncertainty; from 75 donors and 1,183 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”.

−0.87

CSIP ideal point

Approximate range −0.95 to −0.80. From 75 donors and 1,183 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.

← More liberalMore conservative →0Gorsek −0.9State Senate Democrats −0.7Oregon Senate −0.8All State Senate +0.1

The outlined dot is Gorsek, 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 Gorsek’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 Gorsek 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 −0.7Gorsek −0.9Oregon Senatemedian −0.8All State Senatemedian +0.1
Show the data
Gorsek's CSIP score of −0.87 placed against State Senate Democrats, Oregon Senate, All State Senate.
GroupOfficialsMedianShare left of Gorsek
State Senate Democrats825−0.721%
Oregon Senate30−0.843%
All State Senate1909+0.19%
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 Gorsek 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 Gorsek.

Back to topNext: Money

Money

Gorsek reported $9,500 in the 2026 cycle, 17% of the State Senate Democrats’ median of $55.5K. State filings report no small-donation total.

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
$9,500

itemized in the 2026 cycle

From 0 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.

PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)PACs and other committees: $9,500 (100.0%)
  • PACs and other committees100 squares$9,500
Show the data
Sources of Gorsek's money, 2026 cycle, one square per percent
SourceAmountShare
PACs and other committees$9,500100.0%
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 2026. The grey line is the State Senate Democrats’ median for 2026.

2020 cycle: $214.6K$214.6K20202022 cycle: $37.6K$37.6K20222024 cycle: $1.5M$1.5M20242026 cycle: $9,500$9,5002026State Senate Democrats median $55.5K
Show the data
Gorsek's receipts by cycle against the 2026 State Senate Democrats median.
ItemValue
2020 cycle$214.6K
2022 cycle$37.6K
2024 cycle$1.5M
2026 cycle$9,500

Top donor states, 2026

Itemized contributions by donor state.

No itemized donors with an address.

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: 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
Gorsek's itemized individual contributions by donor state, 2026 cycle
StateValue
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
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
0

itemized donors

People who gave more than $200

No itemized individual money.

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 Oregon. 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. UFCW ACTIVE BALLOT CLUB GENERAL FUND$5,000
  2. AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION 757 POLITICAL FUND$1,000
  3. OREGON HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION PAC$1,000
  4. OREGON NURSES POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$1,000
  5. HUMANE VOTERS OREGON PAC$500

Top employers

Itemized, 2026 cycle.

No employers reported.

Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.

Back to topNext: Votes

Votes

Gorsek voted with the majority of Oregon Senate Democrats on 97.8% of party-line votes and missed 11% of 1,003 roll calls. Oregon Senate on average: 93.3% party unity, 94.2% attendance. Across all roll calls, Gorsek voted against the majority of Oregon Senate Democrats 8 times.

1,003 roll calls Gorsek could vote on in the OR 2025–26 session, compared with Oregon 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 Gorsek voted with the majority of Oregon Senate Democrats. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.

8

votes against the majority of Oregon Senate Democrats

Party unity 97.8%, Oregon Senate average 93.3%, ranks 17th of 30. 1,003 roll calls in the OR 2025–26 session.

Attendance and party unity

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

80%100%
Gorsek
Peers
Rank
Attendance
89%
94.2%
27th of 30
Party unity
97.8%
93.3%
17th of 30
Show the data
Gorsek's attendance and party unity against Oregon Senate.
RowGorsekPeers
Attendance89%94.2%
Party unity97.8%93.3%
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 OR 2025–26 session

Key votes
Party split (yea–nay)Why it’s key
Mar 6, 2026
HB 4127
Relating to Medicaid payments to reproductive health care providers; and declaring an emergency.
Third reading. Carried by Patterson. Passed.
YeaWith majoritypassD 18–0 · R 0–11Democrats 18 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 0 yea, 11 naybecame law
Mar 6, 2026
HB 4121
Relating to emergency management.
Rules suspended. Third reading. Carried by Manning Jr. Passed.
YeaWith majoritypassD 18–0 · R 8–2Democrats 18 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 8 yea, 2 naybecame law · party crossover
Mar 6, 2026
HB 4040
Relating to health care; and declaring an emergency.
Third reading. Carried by Patterson. Passed.
YeaWith majoritypassD 18–0 · R 9–1Democrats 18 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 9 yea, 1 naybecame law · party crossover
Mar 6, 2026
HB 4062
Relating to evaluating Business Oregon programs; and declaring an emergency.
Third reading. Carried by Gorsek. Passed.
YeaWith majoritypassD 18–0 · R 11–0Democrats 18 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 11 yea, 0 naybecame law
Mar 6, 2026
HB 4007
Relating to transportation; and prescribing an effective date.
Third reading. Carried by Pham. Passed.
YeaWith majoritypassD 18–0 · R 10–0Democrats 18 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 10 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 Gorsek most often

  1. Rob WagnerD857 shared votes99%
  2. James ManningD833 shared votes99%
  3. Lew FrederickD801 shared votes99%
  4. Kayse JamaD862 shared votes99%
  5. Kate LieberD859 shared votes99%

Votes least often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Gorsek least often

  1. Noah RobinsonR864 shared votes48%
  2. Diane LinthicumR767 shared votes55%
  3. Daniel BonhamR663 shared votes65%
  4. Kim ThatcherR717 shared votes69%
  5. Cedric HaydenR762 shared votes70%
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

OR 2025–26 session, loads in batches

Back to topNext: Legislation

Legislation

Gorsek sponsored 84 bills in the OR 2025–26 session; 14 became law. Cosponsored 55 others. 44% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Oregon Senate average 50%; 21st of 30).

The bills Gorsek sponsored and cosponsored in the OR 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 OR 2025–26 session

Sponsored84 billsSponsored, Introduced: 8484Sponsored, In committee: 8484Sponsored, Passed one chamber: 1919Sponsored, Passed both chambers: 1717Sponsored, Became law: 1414Cosponsored55 billsCosponsored, Introduced: 5555Cosponsored, In committee: 5555Cosponsored, Passed one chamber: 2121Cosponsored, Passed both chambers: 1919Cosponsored, Became law: 1313IntroducedIncommitteePassed onechamberPassed bothchambersBecamelaw
Show the data
Bills Gorsek sponsored and cosponsored, by furthest stage reached
RoleIntroducedIn committeePassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law
Sponsored8484191714
Cosponsored5555211913
How to read the blocks

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

44%

of sponsored bills got out of committee

Oregon Senate average 50%. Ranks 21st of 30.

Cosponsorship partners

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

  1. Mark Gamba43
  2. Ricki Ruiz41
  3. James Manning40
  4. Lew Frederick35
  5. Wlnsvey Campos31
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 Gorsek’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 4112Relating to outdoor school; declaring an emergency.CosponsorFeb 2, 2026In committeeEducation(model)In committee upon adjournment. Mar 7, 2026
HB 4094Relating to compensation for certain unused paid time off upon termination of employment; prescribing an effective date.SponsorFeb 2, 2026In committeeLabor and Employment(model)In committee upon adjournment. Mar 7, 2026
SB 1587Relating to data brokers; and prescribing an effective date.CosponsorFeb 2, 2026Became lawCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues(model)Effective date, June 5, 2026. Apr 6, 2026
HB 4090Relating to county vehicle registration fees; prescribing an effective date.SponsorFeb 2, 2026In committeeTransportation and Public Works(model)In committee upon adjournment. Mar 7, 2026
HB 4125Relating to revenue estimates; prescribing an effective date.CosponsorFeb 2, 2026In committeeEconomics and Public Finance(model)In committee upon adjournment. Mar 7, 2026

Back to topNext: Online

Online

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

The lab crawls Gorsek’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 Gorsek 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 Gorsek posted

No images from Gorsek’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 Gorsek is most unusual among Oregon 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. The wording always names the direction (“in the bottom 5% of …”, “votes against the majority of …”).

Identifiers

Profile id
d5d3b10e-9a5c-464a-93ad-bd824af1cbc0
Open States
ocd-person/d5d3b10e-9a5c-464a-93ad-bd824af1cbc0

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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