Policy criticism
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
Aug 4, 2026 · Posts on X (governors) · policy criticism; policy discussion; credit claiming; Health; Commerce · Source
2.3×
the Republican governor rate of extreme labels
3.8% of 1,261 statements use an extreme label (48 statements); the average for Republican governors is 1.7%. Ranks 2nd of 22, where 1st is the highest rate. Most often aimed at Communist China.
An AI model reads each of Sanders’s posts on X and marks whether it calls a politician, party or policy far left, far right, MAGA, extreme, radical, woke, fascist or communist. The rate is the share of statements marked; it is compared with the average among Republican governors and ranked against the same group.
At a glance
6 measures against Republican governors. 2.1% of Sanders’s statements contain a personal attack, 2.4 times the Republican governor average of 0.9%. 6.7% of Sanders’s statements criticize a policy, 1.5 times the Republican governor average of 4.4%.
The measures on which Sanders sits furthest from the middle of Republican governors, each against the same group, with the CSIP score when there is one. Every number is explained in its own section below.
Extreme labels
3.8%
Republican governors average 1.7% · ranks 2nd of 22
Personal attacks
2.1%
Republican governors average 0.9% · ranks 4th of 22
Policy criticism
6.7%
Republican governors average 4.4% · ranks 5th of 22
Policy discussion
54%
Republican governors average 40% · ranks 5th of 22
Credit claiming
41%
Republican governors average 29% · ranks 6th of 22
CSIP ideology
+0.85
More conservative than 66% of Republican governors · ± 0.10
Peer group: Republican governors. Rank 1 is the highest value in the group; the thick bar is Sanders, the thin grey bar the peer average. The headline is the measure on which Sanders is most unusual among peers (Methods, §08).
What Sanders says
Sanders attacks opponents personally more than 81% of Republican governors. Personal attacks in 2.1% of 1,261 statements, against 0.9% for the average Republican governor; 4th of 22.
An AI model reads each of Sanders’s 1,261 statements in the current term (1,261 posts on X) and marks the kinds of statement it contains: a personal attack, criticism of a policy, discussion of policy, bipartisanship, credit claiming, and extreme labels. A statement can carry several. Every rate is compared with the average for Republican governors and ranked among them.
Kinds of statement
Share of statements carrying each label, the current term
0%80%
Sanders
Peers
Rank
Policy discussion687 statements
54%
40%
5th of 22
Credit claiming515 statements
41%
29%
6th of 22
Policy criticism84 statements
7%
4%
5th of 22
Personal attacks26 statements
2%
1%
4th of 22
Bipartisanship22 statements
2%
3%
11th of 22
Show the data
| Row | Sanders | Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Policy discussion | 54% | 40% |
| Credit claiming | 41% | 29% |
| Policy criticism | 7% | 4% |
| Personal attacks | 2% | 1% |
| Bipartisanship | 2% | 3% |
1,261
statements classified
1,261 posts on X.
Show the data
| Part | Value |
|---|---|
| posts on X | 1,261 |
How to read the bars
The thick bar is Sanders; the thin grey bar is the average Republican governors. A longer thick bar means Sanders does this more than peers. Rank 1 is the highest rate in the group.
Extreme labels
Sanders used extreme labels in 3.8% of statements, 2.3 times the peer average. 48 statements, most often aimed at Communist China; peers 1.7%.
- “communist”13
- “woke”8
- “radical”4
- “far left”2
Who gets the labels
Targets named alongside an extreme label, by number of statements
- Communist China9
- Democrats5
- China3
- left3
- woke3
What an extreme label is
Calls a politician, a party or a policy “far left”, “far right”, “MAGA”, “extreme”, “radical”, “woke”, “fascist” or “communist”. The target is who or what the label was aimed at. The lists show the five most used labels and targets; the toggle shows the rest.
Month by month
Share of statements per month, the current term
Show the data
| Column | Statements | Personal attacks | Policy criticism | Policy discussion | Bipartisanship | Credit claiming | Extreme labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan ’25 | 67 | 0.0% | 4.5% | 50.7% | 3.0% | 43.3% | 1.5% |
| Feb ’25 | 49 | 0.0% | 2.0% | 61.2% | 6.1% | 49.0% | 4.1% |
| Mar ’25 | 65 | 0.0% | 10.8% | 61.5% | 4.6% | 47.7% | 1.5% |
| Apr ’25 | 60 | 0.0% | 6.7% | 66.7% | 1.7% | 53.3% | 6.7% |
| May ’25 | 88 | 3.4% | 1.1% | 56.8% | 2.3% | 50.0% | 6.8% |
| Jun ’25 | 80 | 1.3% | 11.3% | 56.3% | 0.0% | 42.5% | 2.5% |
| Jul ’25 | 69 | 1.5% | 2.9% | 36.2% | 4.3% | 42.0% | 5.8% |
| Aug ’25 | 62 | 1.6% | 6.5% | 58.1% | 1.6% | 41.9% | 0.0% |
| Sep ’25 | 50 | 6.0% | 14.0% | 48.0% | 2.0% | 34.0% | 4.0% |
| Oct ’25 | 70 | 5.7% | 27.1% | 57.1% | 1.4% | 25.7% | 2.9% |
| Nov ’25 | 39 | 0.0% | 12.8% | 46.2% | 0.0% | 51.3% | 10.3% |
| Dec ’25 | 38 | 2.6% | 2.6% | 44.7% | 0.0% | 36.8% | 7.9% |
| Jan ’26 | 44 | 4.5% | 6.8% | 56.8% | 2.3% | 36.4% | 2.3% |
| Feb ’26 | 51 | 0.0% | 3.9% | 37.3% | 0.0% | 35.3% | 5.9% |
| Mar ’26 | 59 | 0.0% | 5.1% | 50.8% | 1.7% | 39.0% | 1.7% |
| Apr ’26 | 54 | 0.0% | 3.7% | 59.3% | 0.0% | 42.6% | 5.6% |
| May ’26 | 42 | 7.1% | 7.1% | 52.4% | 0.0% | 35.7% | 0.0% |
| Jun ’26 | 48 | 4.2% | 12.5% | 47.9% | 0.0% | 35.4% | 8.3% |
| Jul ’26 | 61 | 3.3% | 1.6% | 57.4% | 1.6% | 44.3% | 3.3% |
| Aug ’26 | 55 | 3.6% | 1.8% | 60.0% | 0.0% | 32.7% | 3.6% |
| Sep ’26 | 65 | 1.5% | 0.0% | 64.6% | 1.5% | 33.9% | 0.0% |
| Oct ’26 | 45 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 60.0% | 2.2% | 40.0% | 2.2% |
How to read the strips
Each row is one kind of statement; each cell is a month, shaded against that row’s own peak (darker = closer to the peak), with the peak and the latest value written at the right. The top row counts statements. The strip covers every month of the current term, the same span as the rates above, including months with no statements. A month with fewer than 10 statements is hatched, not shaded: one or two posts would swing its rate to 0% or 100%.
In Sanders’s words
Real statements from the classifier’s example set, with the labels it assigned
Personal attacks
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
Sep 17, 2026 · Posts on X (governors) · personal attacks; target: Talarico · Source
Extreme label
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
Oct 17, 2026 · Posts on X (governors) · extreme label “radical, communist” aimed at Democrat Party · Source
Examples by category
Up to five recent statements in each category
Overtly questions a named person’s character, integrity or loyalty, or calls them names. Criticising a record or a policy does not count.
Posts on X (governors)
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
personal attacks · target: TalaricoSource
Posts on X (governors)
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
personal attacks · target: Joe BidenSource
Posts on X (governors)
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
personal attacks · policy discussion · Health · target: FauciSource
Posts on X (governors)
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
personal attacks · credit claiming · target: bad leaderSource
Posts on X (governors)
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
personal attacks · policy discussion · Armed Forces and National Security · Crime and Law Enforcement · target: MamdaniSource
All 1,261 statements
Newest first, the current term
The full feed
Five statements at a time, newest first; filters apply to the statements loaded so far. Export saves the statements that match. Sources: 1,261 posts on X.
Policy
Education is what Sanders talks about most: 23% of policy statements, above the peer share. Peers give it 18%.
Each policy statement is tagged by the AI model with one or more of 25 policy areas from the Congressional Research Service list, so the shares say what Sanders talks about. The bills Sanders sponsors and cosponsors carry the same areas, so the two can be compared.
What Sanders talks about
Share of policy statements by area, the current term
0%35%
Sanders
Peers
Education159 statements
23%
18%
Agriculture and Food98 statements
14%
6%
Health89 statements
13%
5%
Economics and Public Finance67 statements
10%
19%
Armed Forces and National Security54 statements
8%
5%
Show the data
| Row | Sanders | Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Education | 23% | 18% |
| Agriculture and Food | 14% | 6% |
| Health | 13% | 5% |
| Economics and Public Finance | 10% | 19% |
| Armed Forces and National Security | 8% | 5% |
How to read the bars
The thick bar is the share of Sanders’s policy statements in an area; the thin grey bar is the average share for Republican governors. A statement counts once in each of its areas, so shares can add to more than 100%. The five largest areas are shown; the toggle shows the rest.
Talks about · legislates on
Left: share of statements by policy area. Right: share of bills. Areas in order of their share of statements; both sides run from 0 to 35%. Grey ticks are the Republican governors averages.
Governors do not sponsor bills, so there is nothing to compare.
What agreement means, and what it doesn’t
Agreement is 1 minus the distance between the two distributions (Jensen–Shannon): 1 means Sanders legislates on exactly the areas Sanders talks about, in the same proportions; 0 means no overlap. It does not say whether the bills match the positions in the statements, only the subjects. Bills Sanders sponsored count fully, cosponsored bills a quarter. Shown with at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills.
Ideology
Sanders sits at +0.85 on the CSIP scale, right of 0, more conservative than 66% of Republican governors. Approximate range +0.75 to +0.94, which understates the uncertainty; from 30,538 donors and no 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”.
+0.85
CSIP ideal point
Approximate range +0.75 to +0.94. From 30,538 donors and no roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.
The outlined dot is Sanders, 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 Sanders’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 Sanders sits
Every official in each group, on the CSIP scale
Republican governors25 · median +0.7
Governors48 · median +0.4
Show the data
| Group | Officials | Median | Share left of Sanders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican governors | 25 | +0.7 | 64% |
| Governors | 48 | +0.4 | 81% |
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 Sanders 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 Sanders.
Money
No campaign-finance data.No campaign-finance records are matched to this governor yet.
Votes
No roll-call votes for the current term.Governors do not cast roll-call votes.
Legislation
No bills for the current term.Governors do not sponsor bills.
Online
The lab crawls Sanders’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 Sanders posts with a vision model.
Websites
No websites are tracked for this official.
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.
Social accounts
Images Sanders posted
No images from Sanders’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.
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 Sanders is most unusual among Republican governors, 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
- gov-AR-sarah-huckabee-sanders
- Governor id
- AR-sarah-huckabee-sanders
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.
- Ideology (CSIP)Oct 25, 20263 days agoCommon-Space Ideal Points (CSIP), current validated run.
- ImagesOct 28, 2026todayImages in members' tweets with vision-model descriptions.
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