WASHINGTON — Rep. Dan Bishop is among one of the most conservative members of Congress in the past 50 years.
The American Conservative Union Foundation, host of the Conservative Political Action Conference, recently released the 50th edition of its annual Ratings of Congress, with Bishop as the only current representative from North Carolina to score 100%.
Bishop, a Republican represents the 9th Congressional District which includes Richmond, Union, Anson, Scotland and Robeson counties and parts of Bladen and Mecklenburg counties.
According to a press release:
“… ACUF has released a comprehensive new platform to help better hold lawmakers accountable to conservative principles. The system breaks down the voting records of over 15,000 historical and active lawmakers and identifies each lawmakers specific policy strength and weakness. The system also provides head-to-head comparisons of elected officials through its 1.4 million vote database. Lawmaker ratings will be used to determine speaking invitations to CPAC and other ACU regional events.”
Other lawmakers from North Carolina making the all-time top 10 are former Sen. John East, a Republican who was ranked in 1986; and former Rep. Alton Lennon, a Democrat who was rated in 1972.
Bishop ranks No. 6 in the all-time ratings and No. 1 for 2020.
There were six other U.S. legislators from the Tar Heel State who received awards for scoring at least 80%:
- former. Rep. Mark Walker – 95%
- Rep. Ted Budd – 92%
- Rep. Greg Murphy -88%
- Rep. Virginia Foxx – 85%
- Rep. David Rouzer – 82%
- Rep. Richard Hudson -80%
Prior to recent redistricting, Hudson represented Richmond County.
Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis scored 73% and 74%, respectively.
“This year CPAC and ACUF will present awards to 122 of the 535 members of Congress,” reads a press release. “The awards are used to help voters and activists identify which lawmakers are best upholding conservative principles and who to rally behind.”
Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis scored 73% and 74%, respectively.
Democratic Reps. G.K Butterfield, David Price and Alma Adams all ranked below 10%, with Adams scoring 0%.
“To produce this year’s scorecard, the ACUF’s Center for Legislative Accountability analyzed every vote taken last session and selected a wide-array of issues relating to fiscal, tax, regulatory, education, environment, Second Amendment rights, election security, life, and government integrity,” reads the press release. “All lawmakers in America at the federal and state levels are scored on a 100-point scale.”
The North Carolina General Assembly is ranked as the third-most conservative state legislative body— behind Florida (2) and Tennessee (1) — with an all-time rating of 66. Massachusetts is the least conservative with an all-time rating of 16.
