Presidential Candidates 2008: Congressional Timber

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Presidential Candidates 2008: The Congressional Timber

It's still 2007, but the campaigning for Presidential Election 2008 has already quite begun. We've picked out the candidates who have served in the Congress and put some of their legislative statistics below.

Click on a candidate or scroll down for more information.

. . . Conservative

Liberal . . .

(no ideological ranking available)

Sen. Joseph Biden [D-DE]

Biden, a Democrat, has been a Senator from Delaware since 1973.

	Biden is a rank-and-file Democrat according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	Biden missed 386 of 4058 votes (10%) since Feb 4, 1993 (Very Poor relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Biden has a senior role on the following committees: Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (Chairman), United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control (Cochairman)

Biden sponsored 275 bills since Jan 21, 1993, of which 156 (57%) haven't made it out of committee and 12 were successfully enacted.

Sen. Samuel Brownback [R-KS]

Brownback, a Republican, has been a Senator from Kansas since 1996.

	Brownback is a rank-and-file Republican according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	SurveyUSA reports Brownback's job approval rating at 44% as of 2007-11-20. The average approval rating among senators in states surveyed is 53%. See their survey details for more information.
	Brownback missed 233 of 4762 votes (5%) since Jan 4, 1995 (Average relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Brownback sponsored 277 bills since Jan 4, 1995, of which 210 (76%) haven't made it out of committee and 5 were successfully enacted.

Sen. Hillary Clinton [D-NY]

Clinton, a Democrat, has been a Senator from New York since 2001.

	Clinton is a far-left Democrat according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	SurveyUSA reports Clinton's job approval rating at 60% as of 2007-11-20. The average approval rating among senators in states surveyed is 53%. See their survey details for more information.
	Clinton missed 238 of 2548 votes (9%) since Jan 23, 2001 (Very Poor relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Clinton sponsored 376 bills since Jan 22, 2001, of which 323 (86%) haven't made it out of committee and 10 were successfully enacted.

Sen. Christopher Dodd [D-CT]

Dodd, a Democrat, has been a Senator from Connecticut since 1981.

	Dodd is a far-left Democrat according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	Dodd missed 274 of 4058 votes (7%) since Feb 4, 1993 (Poor relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Dodd has a senior role on the following committees: Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (Chairman)

Dodd sponsored 387 bills since Jan 21, 1993, of which 296 (76%) haven't made it out of committee and 15 were successfully enacted.

John Edwards

Edwards, a Democrat, was a Senator from North Carolina from 1999 to 2004.

Edwards missed 311 of 1978 votes (16%) since Jan 8, 1999 (Exceedingly Poor relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Edwards sponsored 81 bills since Jan 19, 1999, of which 74 (91%) haven't made it out of committee and 2 were successfully enacted.

Newton Gingrich

Gingrich, a Republican, was a Representative from Georgia from 1979 to 1999.

Gingrich missed 63 of 1164 votes (5%) since Jan 5, 1993 (Poor relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Gingrich sponsored 28 bills since Jan 5, 1993, of which 17 (61%) haven't made it out of committee and 2 were successfully enacted.

Sen. Charles Hagel [R-NE]

Hagel, a Republican, has been a Senator from Nebraska since 1997.

	Hagel is a moderate Republican according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	Hagel missed 89 of 3830 votes (2%) since Jan 22, 1997 (Average relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Hagel sponsored 130 bills since Jan 7, 1997, of which 96 (74%) haven't made it out of committee and 5 were successfully enacted.

Rep. Duncan Hunter [R-CA]

Hunter, a Republican, has been a Representative from California since 1981.

	Hunter is a rank-and-file Republican according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	Hunter missed 897 of 9321 votes (10%) since Jan 5, 1993 (Very Poor relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Hunter has a senior role on the following committees: House Committee on Armed Services (Ranking Member)

Hunter sponsored 134 bills since Jan 5, 1993, of which 101 (75%) haven't made it out of committee and 10 were successfully enacted.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich [D-OH]

Kucinich, a Democrat, has been a Representative from Ohio since 1997.

	Kucinich is a far-left Democrat according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	Kucinich missed 354 of 7449 votes (5%) since Jan 7, 1997 (Average relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Kucinich sponsored 107 bills since Jan 7, 1997, of which 94 (88%) haven't made it out of committee and 2 were successfully enacted.

Sen. John McCain [R-AZ]

McCain, a Republican, has been a Senator from Arizona since 1987.

	McCain is a rank-and-file Republican according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	McCain missed 691 of 4057 votes (17%) since Feb 4, 1993 (Exceedingly Poor relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

McCain has a senior role on the following committees: Senate Committee on Armed Services (Ranking Member)

McCain sponsored 537 bills since Jan 21, 1993, of which 340 (63%) haven't made it out of committee and 31 were successfully enacted.

Sen. Barack Obama [D-IL]

Obama, a Democrat, has been a Senator from Illinois since 2005.

	Obama is a rank-and-file Democrat according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	Obama missed 268 of 1240 votes (22%) since Jan 6, 2005 (Exceedingly Poor relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Obama sponsored 132 bills since Jan 4, 2005, of which 119 (90%) haven't made it out of committee and 2 were successfully enacted.

Rep. Ronald Paul [R-TX]

Paul, a Republican, has been a Representative from Texas since 1997.

	Paul is a rank-and-file Republican according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	Paul missed 759 of 7449 votes (10%) since Jan 7, 1997 (Very Poor relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Paul sponsored 352 bills since Jan 7, 1997, of which 346 (98%) haven't made it out of committee and 0 were successfully enacted.

William Richardson

Richardson, a Democrat, was a Representative from New Mexico from 1983 to 1997.

Richardson missed 74 of 1892 votes (4%) since Jan 5, 1993 (Average relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Richardson sponsored 91 bills since Jan 5, 1993, of which 69 (76%) haven't made it out of committee and 14 were successfully enacted.

Rep. Thomas Tancredo [R-CO]

Tancredo, a Republican, has been a Representative from Colorado since 1999.

	Tancredo is a rank-and-file Republican according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship. (Where do these labels come from?)
	Tancredo missed 554 of 6263 votes (9%) since Jan 6, 1999 (Very Poor relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Tancredo sponsored 119 bills since Jan 6, 1999, of which 101 (85%) haven't made it out of committee and 3 were successfully enacted.

Fred Thompson

Thompson, a Republican, was a Senator from Tennessee from 1994 to 2002.

Thompson missed 24 of 2042 votes (1%) since Jan 11, 1995 (Average relative to peers). Click the image for a graph of this candidate's missed votes over time.

Thompson sponsored 90 bills since Jan 4, 1995, of which 58 (64%) haven't made it out of committee and 6 were successfully enacted.

Photos are from the Congressional Pictorial Directory. For those candidates who no longer serve in Congress, their most recent photo from the Congressional Pictorial Directory is shown.