Among the 10 least-conservative states — when it comes to how Republican lawmakers actually vote — were Mississippi, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Idaho
By Luke Rosiak ~ DailyWire.com
Democrat state lawmakers are more unified and committed to a leftist ideology than Republican lawmakers are to conservatism, according to a report from the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Republicans voted for conservative policies 77% of the time, while Democrats voted for liberal policies 87% of the time, according to the analysis of all 7,400 lawmakers in the 50 statehouses during last year’s legislative sessions.
The study by CPAC’s affiliated Center for Legislative Accountability concluded that Democrats were more likely to “stick together” on issues important to the party’s base, while Republicans “broke apart.”
“Republicans run on conservative promises, but after they win more of them abandon the tough votes on key conservative policies when compared to Democrats whose first rule is to stick together,” the group said. “Our analysis shows how moderate Republicans broke apart on key issues like parental choice in education, securing strong voter ID, or putting a stop to COVID mandates.”The analysis found a mismatch between the desires of the populace and how state representatives acted.
Ranking among the 10 states with the most liberal Republican lawmakers were Mississippi, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Idaho. That’s despite Republicans holding strong majorities in those legislatures, and the state’s population overwhelmingly voting for Republican in election after election.
As a group, Mississippi Republican lawmakers had an average conservative score of 58%, making them less conservative than Republicans in New Jersey, Maryland, and Oregon. The state where Republicans voted most conservative was a swing state: Wisconsin.
The findings emphasize that the states advancing conservative legislation are not doing it because of legislative dominance, but because of committed policymaking. Florida, for example, is a traditionally swing state in presidential elections, and Republicans don’t hold nearly the percentage of seats in the state legislature that they do in places like Wyoming. But those Florida Republicans take full advantage of the majority they do have, with a conservative score of 89%.