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Rep. Joe Wilson

Representative for South Carolina’s 2nd District

pronounced joh // WIL-sun

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Wilson is the representative for South Carolina’s 2nd congressional district (view map) and is a Republican. He has served since Dec 18, 2001. Wilson is next up for reelection in 2022 and serves until Jan 3, 2023.

Wilson is among the Republican legislators whose attempt to disenfranchise Democratic states in the 2020 presidential election was a part of the months-long attempted coup that included the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol. Shortly after the 2020 election, Wilson joined a case before the Supreme Court calling for all the votes for president in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — states that were narrowly won by Democrats — to be discounted based on lies, conspiracy theories, and a preposterous legal argument which the Supreme Court rejected. Following the rejection of several related cases before the Supreme Court, another legislator who joined the case called for violence. On January 6, 2021 in the hours after the attack on the Capitol, Wilson voted for the exclusion of all of the votes in Arizona and/or Pennsylvania — states narrowly won by Democrats — from the Electoral College count that determined the next President of the United States. These legislators have generally changed their story after their vote, claiming it was merely a protest and not intended to change the outcome of the election as they clearly sought prior to the vote.

Alleged misconduct & resolution

In 2010 Wilson was investigated for keeping the difference between his requested travel per diems and the amount he actually spent. The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct recommended no further action.

Jul. 30, 2010 House Office of Congressional Ethics recommended that the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct further review the allegations
Dec. 31, 2010 House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct recommended no further action

In September 2009, Rep. Wilson heckled President Obama during an address to Congress by yelling "You lie!". A week later, the House reprimanded him, 240-179.

Sep. 9, 2009 Wilson heckled President Obama during an address to Congress by yelling "You lie!".
Sep. 15, 2009 House reprimanded Rep. Wilson, 240-179
Photo of Rep. Joe Wilson [R-SC2]

Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Read our 2020 Report Card for Wilson.

Ideology–Leadership Chart

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

The chart is based on the bills Wilson has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to Sep 17, 2021. See full analysis methodology.

Ratings from Advocacy Organizations

United States Chamber of Commerce: 92% The Club for Growth: 78% The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: D League of Conservation Voters: 3% Human Rights Campaign: 0% Planned Parenthood Action Fund: 0%

Committee Membership

Joe Wilson sits on the following committees:

Enacted Legislation

Wilson was the primary sponsor of 5 bills that were enacted:

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Does 5 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.

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

Wilson sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:

International Affairs (67%) Armed Forces and National Security (16%) Labor and Employment (9%)

Recent Bills

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

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Voting Record

Key Votes

Wilson voted Yea

Passed 338/88 on May 13, 2015.
The USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048, Pub.L. 114–23) is a U.S. law enacted on June 2, 2015 that restored in modified form several provisions of ...

Wilson voted Yea

Passed 219/206 on Dec 11, 2014.
This bill became the vehicle for passage of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 [pdf], which was approved by the House on December ...

Wilson voted Aye

Wilson voted Nay

Wilson voted Yea

Passed 297/117 on May 8, 2014.

Wilson voted No

Passed 269/161 on Aug 1, 2011.
The Budget Control Act of 2011 (Pub.L. 112–25, S. 365, 125 Stat. 240, enacted August 2, 2011) is a federal statute enacted by the 112th ...

Wilson voted Aye

Passed 304/117 on Jun 23, 2011.
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 ...

Wilson voted Yea

Passed 326/92 on Jul 21, 2010.
The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 is a law, signed into effect by President Obama, that expands the punitive abilities of tribal courts ...

Wilson voted Aye

Missed Votes

From Dec 2001 to Sep 2021, Wilson missed 290 of 13,020 roll call votes, which is 2.2%. This is on par with the median of 2.1% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.

Show the numbers...

Primary Sources

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