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Sen. Gary Peters

Senator for Michigan

pronounced GAIR-ee // PEE-terz

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Peters is the junior senator from Michigan and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 6, 2015. Peters is next up for reelection in 2020.

He was previously the representative for Michigan’s 14th congressional district as a Democrat from 2013 to 2014; and the representative for Michigan’s 9th congressional district as a Democrat from 2009 to 2012.

Photo of Sen. Gary Peters [D-MI]

Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Read our 2018 Report Card for Peters.

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Peters is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the Senate positioned according to our liberal–conservative ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).

The chart is based on the bills Peters has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Jan 22, 2019. See full analysis methodology.

Ratings from Advocacy Organizations

Enacted Legislation

Peters was the primary sponsor of 7 bills that were enacted:

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We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Peters sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:

Government Operations and Politics (19%) Armed Forces and National Security (17%) Transportation and Public Works (15%) Commerce (11%) Taxation (11%) Education (9%) Science, Technology, Communications (9%) Arts, Culture, Religion (8%)

Recent Bills

Some of Peters’s most recently sponsored bills include...

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Voting Record

Key Votes

Peters’s Vote Vote Description
Nay On the Nomination PN1650: Charles J. Williams, of Iowa, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Iowa
Sep 6, 2018. Nomination Confirmed 79/12.
Nay On the Nomination PN117: William Francis Hagerty IV, of Tennessee, to be Ambassador to Japan
Jul 13, 2017. Nomination Confirmed 86/12.
Nay H.J.Res. 43: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the final rule submitted by Secretary of Health and Human Services relating ...
Mar 30, 2017. Joint Resolution Passed 51/50.
Joe Biden never got the opportunity to break a single 50-50 Senate tie in eight years as vice president. Mike Pence has already broken two. One from last month has since become law: a measure allowing states to withhold federal Planned Parenthood funding. (The other ...
Nay H.R. 5325: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017
Sep 28, 2016. Bill Passed 72/26.
The Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act (H.R. 5325) is an appropriations bill which extended funding at the previous year's levels up to December 9, 2016 (10 weeks). After this, a continuing ...
Yea H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act
Dec 3, 2015. Conference Report Agreed to 83/16.
H.R 22, formerly the Hire More Heroes Act, has become the Senate’s vehicle for passage of the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act or DRIVE Act (S. 1647). The DRIVE Act is a major bipartisan transportation bill that would authorize funding ...
Yea H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act
Jul 30, 2015. Bill Passed 65/34.
This vote turned H.R 22, originally the Hire More Heroes Act, into the Senate’s vehicle for passage of the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act or DRIVE Act (S. 1647), a major bipartisan transportation bill, and the Export-Import Bank Reform and ...
Aye H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 17, 2014. Passed 319/108.
Yea H.R. 3393 (113th): Student and Family Tax Simplification Act
Jul 24, 2014. Passed 227/187.
Aye H.R. 1947 (113th): Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013
Jun 20, 2013. Failed 195/234.
Yea H.R. 6190 (112th): Asthma Inhalers Relief Act of 2012
Dec 12, 2012. Failed 229/182.
Aye H.R. 1249 (112th): Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
Jun 23, 2011. Passed 304/117.
The Leahy–Smith America Invents Act (AIA) is a United States federal statute that was passed by Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on September 16, 2011. The law represents the most significant legislative change to the U.S. patent system since the ...

Missed Votes

From Jan 2015 to Jan 2019, Peters missed 12 of 1,108 roll call votes, which is 1.1%. This is on par with the median of 1.2% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

Show the numbers...

Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including: