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Democrat · Colorado Senate, district 16

Serving since Jan 9, 2023CO 2025–26 session

Portrait of Chris Kolker, rendered as a two-tone print
Official portrait
8.4%
of roll calls missed, attendance in the bottom tenth of the Colorado Senate

Attendance 91.6%; the average within the Colorado Senate is 97.2%. Ranks 33rd of 35, where 1st has the highest attendance. 1,666 roll calls in the CO 2025–26 session.

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

At a glance

6 measures against the Colorado Senate. Kolker reported $4,078 in the 2026 cycle, in the bottom tenth of State Senate Democrats (median $55.5K). Kolker sits at −0.90 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 82% of State Senate Democrats.

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

Attendance

91.6%

Colorado Senate average 97.2% · ranks 33rd of 35 · 1,666 roll calls

Itemized, 2026

$4,078

State Senate Democrats’ median $55.5K · ranks 680th of 746

CSIP ideology

−0.90

More liberal than 82% of State Senate Democrats · ± 0.04

From Colorado, 2026

99%

Of itemized individual dollars · ranks 173rd of 714 State Senate Democrats

Out of committee

93%

Colorado Senate average 94% · ranks 26th of 35

Party unity

96.2%

Colorado Senate average 94.2% · ranks 16th of 35 · 22 votes against the majority of Colorado Senate Democrats

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

Back to topNext: What politicians say

What Kolker says

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

Back to topNext: Ideology

Ideology

Kolker sits at −0.90 on the CSIP scale, left of 0, more liberal than 82% of State Senate Democrats. Approximate range −0.94 to −0.87, which understates the uncertainty; from 1,190 donors and 864 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”.

−0.90

CSIP ideal point

Approximate range −0.94 to −0.87. From 1,190 donors and 864 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.

← More liberalMore conservative →0Kolker −0.9State Senate Democrats −0.7Colorado Senate −0.7All State Senate +0.1

The outlined dot is Kolker, 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 Kolker’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 Kolker 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 −0.7Kolker −0.9Colorado Senatemedian −0.7All State Senatemedian +0.1
Show the data
Kolker's CSIP score of −0.90 placed against State Senate Democrats, Colorado Senate, All State Senate.
GroupOfficialsMedianShare left of Kolker
State Senate Democrats825−0.718%
Colorado Senate35−0.723%
All State Senate1909+0.18%
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 Kolker 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 Kolker.

Back to topNext: Money

Money

Kolker reported $4,078 in the 2026 cycle, 7.3% of the State Senate Democrats’ median of $55.5K. State filings report no small-donation total. 99% of itemized individual money came from Colorado.

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
$4,078

itemized in the 2026 cycle

From 31 itemized donors. State Senate Democrats’ median $55.5K.

Where the money came from

Each square is one percent of itemized contributions in the 2026 cycle.

Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)Individuals (itemized): $2,503 (61.4%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)PACs and other committees: $1,575 (38.6%)
  • Individuals (itemized)61 squares$2,503
  • PACs and other committees39 squares$1,575
Show the data
Sources of Kolker's money, 2026 cycle, one square per percent
SourceAmountShare
Individuals (itemized)$2,50361.4%
PACs and other committees$1,57538.6%
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: $230.2K$230.2K20202022 cycle: $6,697$6,69720222024 cycle: $242.2K$242.2K20242026 cycle: $4,078$4,0782026State Senate Democrats median $55.5K
Show the data
Kolker's receipts by cycle against the 2026 State Senate Democrats median.
ItemValue
2020 cycle$230.2K
2022 cycle$6,697
2024 cycle$242.2K
2026 cycle$4,078

Top donor states, 2026

Itemized contributions by donor state. 99% came from Colorado.

  1. Colorado$2,477
  2. Indiana$13
  3. Florida$5
  4. Pennsylvania$5
  5. New Jersey$2

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: $1NYRhode Island: no dataRIMassachusetts: no dataMAOregon: no dataORNevada: no dataNVWyoming: no dataWYSouth Dakota: no dataSDIowa: no dataIAIndiana: $13INOhio: no dataOHPennsylvania: $5PANew Jersey: $2NJConnecticut: no dataCTCalifornia: no dataCAUtah: no dataUTColorado: $2,477CONebraska: 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: $5FL
Show the data
Kolker's itemized individual contributions by donor state, 2026 cycle
StateValue
Colorado$2,477
Indiana$13
Pennsylvania$5
Florida$5
New Jersey$2
New York$1
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
Rhode IslandNo data
MassachusettsNo data
OregonNo data
NevadaNo data
WyomingNo data
South DakotaNo data
IowaNo data
OhioNo data
ConnecticutNo data
CaliforniaNo data
UtahNo 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
31

itemized donors

People who gave more than $200

99%

from Colorado

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

Top donor occupations

Itemized, 2026 cycle.

  1. LOBBYIST$1,650 5 donors
  2. NOT CURRENTLY EMPLOYED$354 17 donors

Top committees

PAC and committee contributions, 2026 cycle.

  1. APARTMENT ASSOCIATION OF METRO DENVER POLITICAL COMMITTEE$450
  2. JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. PAC$450
  3. ROBERTS LEADERSHIP FUND$450
  4. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE & FINANCIAL ADVISORS-COLORADO (NAIFA-COLORADO) PAC$225

Top employers

Itemized, 2026 cycle.

No employers reported.

Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.

Back to topNext: Votes

Votes

Kolker voted with the majority of Colorado Senate Democrats on 96.2% of party-line votes and missed 8.4% of 1,666 roll calls. Colorado Senate on average: 94.2% party unity, 97.2% attendance. Across all roll calls, Kolker voted against the majority of Colorado Senate Democrats 22 times.

1,666 roll calls Kolker could vote on in the CO 2025–26 session, compared with Colorado 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 Kolker voted with the majority of Colorado Senate Democrats. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.

22

votes against the majority of Colorado Senate Democrats

Party unity 96.2%, Colorado Senate average 94.2%, ranks 16th of 35. 1,666 roll calls in the CO 2025–26 session.

Attendance and party unity

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

80%100%
Kolker
Peers
Rank
Attendance
91.6%
97.2%
33rd of 35
Party unity
96.2%
94.2%
16th of 35
Show the data
Kolker's attendance and party unity against Colorado Senate.
RowKolkerPeers
Attendance91.6%97.2%
Party unity96.2%94.2%
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 CO 2025–26 session

Key votes
Party split (yea–nay)Why it’s key
May 13, 2026
SB 187
Establishing Commission on Medicaid
CONCUR
YeaWith majoritypassD 23–0 · R 12–0Democrats 23 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 12 yea, 0 naybecame law
May 13, 2026
HB 1425
Applied Behavior Analysis Services
BILL
YeaWith majoritypassD 23–0 · R 9–3Democrats 23 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 9 yea, 3 naybecame law · party crossover
May 13, 2026
SB 42
Revenue Classification Taxpayers Bill of Rights
REPASS
YeaWith majoritypassD 23–0 · R 0–12Democrats 23 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 0 yea, 12 naybecame law
May 13, 2026
HB 1141
Discriminatory Practices in Public Schools
BILL
YeaWith majoritypassD 23–0 · R 0–12Democrats 23 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 0 yea, 12 naybecame law
May 13, 2026
SB 78
Changes to Institutions of Higher Education Statutes
CONCUR
YeaWith majoritypassD 23–0 · R 12–0Democrats 23 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 12 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 Kolker most often

  1. James ColemanD1,005 shared votes98%
  2. Jessie DanielsonD1,317 shared votes98%
  3. Iman JodehD1,437 shared votes98%
  4. Cathy KippD1,525 shared votes98%
  5. Mike WeissmanD1,526 shared votes98%

Votes least often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Kolker least often

  1. Lynda Zamora WilsonR744 shared votes47%
  2. Mark BaisleyR1,514 shared votes54%
  3. John CarsonR1,515 shared votes64%
  4. Rod PeltonR1,488 shared votes66%
  5. Janice RichR1,519 shared votes68%
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

CO 2025–26 session, loads in batches

Back to topNext: Legislation

Legislation

Kolker sponsored 42 bills in the CO 2025–26 session; 28 became law. Cosponsored 312 others. 93% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Colorado Senate average 94%; 26th of 35).

The bills Kolker sponsored and cosponsored in the CO 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 CO 2025–26 session

Sponsored42 billsSponsored, Introduced: 4242Sponsored, In committee: 4141Sponsored, Passed one chamber: 3737Sponsored, Passed both chambers: 3636Sponsored, Became law: 2828Cosponsored312 billsCosponsored, Introduced: 312312Cosponsored, In committee: 312312Cosponsored, Passed one chamber: 312312Cosponsored, Passed both chambers: 287287Cosponsored, Became law: 193193IntroducedIncommitteePassed onechamberPassed bothchambersBecamelaw
Show the data
Bills Kolker sponsored and cosponsored, by furthest stage reached
RoleIntroducedIn committeePassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law
Sponsored4241373628
Cosponsored312312312287193
How to read the blocks

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

93%

of sponsored bills got out of committee

Colorado Senate average 94%. Ranks 26th of 35.

Cosponsorship partners

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

  1. James Coleman47
  2. Cathy Kipp43
  3. Iman Jodeh39
  4. Lisa Cutter39
  5. Janice Marchman38
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 Kolker’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 26Adjourn Sine DieCosponsorMay 12, 2026Passed one chamberUnassignedIntroduced In House - Assigned to May 20, 2026
HB 1431Competency for Occupational Licensure PortabilityCosponsorMay 5, 2026Became lawLabor and Employment(model)Governor Signed Jun 4, 2026
SR 9Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness MonthCosponsorMay 1, 2026Passed one chamberUnassignedSenate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments May 7, 2026
SB 189Automated Decision-Making TechnologyCosponsorMay 1, 2026Became lawScience, Technology, Communications(model)Governor Signed May 14, 2026
SJR 25Colorado Mining Association's 150th AnniversaryCosponsorApr 30, 2026Passed both chambersUnassignedSigned by the President of the Senate May 13, 2026

Back to topNext: Online

Online

A site that has not changed in 90 days. Kolker’s official site had 1 page when last crawled on Aug 1, 2026.

The lab crawls Kolker’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 Kolker 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 Kolker posted

No images from Kolker’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

3 turns, Feb 22, 2023 to Mar 27, 2023

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 Kolker is most unusual among Colorado 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
f72691ec-a5a0-413b-a344-e452009551a2
Open States
ocd-person/f72691ec-a5a0-413b-a344-e452009551a2

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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