Gowdy was the representative for South Carolina’s 4th congressional district and was a Republican. He served from 2011 to 2018.
![Photo of Rep. Trey Gowdy [R-SC4, 2011-2018]](/static/legislator-photos/412473-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2018 Report Card for Gowdy.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Gowdy is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2018 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 Gowdy sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2013 to Dec 21, 2018. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Enacted Legislation
Gowdy was the primary sponsor of 4 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 6845: Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018
- H.R. 2076 (112th): Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012
- H.R. 6620 (112th): Former Presidents Protection Act of 2012
- H.R. 3237 (112th): SOAR Technical Corrections Act
Does 4 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
Gowdy sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Crime and Law Enforcement (60%) Immigration (40%)
Recent Bills
Some of Gowdy’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 6845: Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018
- H.R. 5925 (115th): CRISIS Act
- H.R. 6440 (114th): Justice for Child Victims Act of 2016
- H.R. 1148 (114th): Michael Davis, Jr. in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act
- H.R. 5401 (113th): Protecting the Homeland Act
- H.R. 4138 (113th): ENFORCE the Law Act of 2014
- H.R. 3412 (113th): Flexibility to Innovate for College Affordability Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2011 to Dec 2018, Gowdy missed 211 of 5,344 roll call votes, which is 3.9%. This is worse than the median of 2.5% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Dec 2018. 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.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
