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Melissa Hart's Ratings and Endorsements

Vote Smart displays all known interest group ratings for each candidate and official, regardless of issue or bias.

Keep in mind that ratings done by special interest groups often do not represent a non-partisan stance. In addition, some groups select votes that tend to favor members of one political party over another, rather than choosing votes based solely on issue concerns. Nevertheless, they can be invaluable in showing where an incumbent has stood on a series of votes in the past one or two years, especially when ratings by groups on all sides of an issue are compared. Website links, if available, and descriptions of the organizations offering performance evaluations are accessible by clicking on the name of the group.

With rare exceptions, Vote Smart displays interest group ratings as a 0-100 percentage. While many interest groups use percentages as ratings to begin with, please note that Vote Smart has translated some ratings to a percentage from a different rating system for consistency and ease in understanding. Please visit the group's website, email us at ratings@votesmart.org or call our Voter Information Hotline at 1-888-VOTESMART for more specific information.

100%
2001
81%
2001-2002
81%
2001-2002
44%
2001-2002
44%
2001-2002
Fence Sitter
2002
Fence Sitter
2002
11%
2003
50%
2001-2002
100%
2003
0%
2005
83%
2005
83%
2005
17%
2005
17%
2005
14%
2005
14%
2005
83%
2005
83%
2005
31%
2005
31%
2005
69%
2005
69%
2005
30%
2004
30%
2004
0%
2004
70%
2004
70%
2004
61%
2004
61%
2004
36%
2004
36%
2004
96%
2004
96%
2004
84%
2003
84%
2003
77%
2003
77%
2003
58%
2003
58%
2003
80%
2003
80%
2003
9%
2003
11%
2003
11%
2003
40%
2003
40%
2003
23%
2003
23%
2003
15%
2002
15%
2002
78%
2002
78%
2002
70%
2002
70%
2002
18%
2002
18%
2002
91%
2002
91%
2002
0%
2002
29%
2002
29%
2002
83%
2002
83%
2002
74%
2001
74%
2001
63%
2001
63%
2001
81%
2001
81%
2001
36%
2001
36%
2001
0%
2001
21%
2001
21%
2001
0%
2003
91%
2003-2004
0%
2006
0%
2006
100%
2003
100%
2003
95%
2001-2002
91%
1996
100%
2003-2004
82%
2003-2004
0%
2004
0%
2005
0%
2004
33%
2003
0%
2001-2002
0%
2001-2002
0%
2001
95%
2003
95%
2001-2002
98%
2004
100%
2003-2004
100%
2003
90%
2001-2002
0
2005
76%
2004
76%
2004
73%
2003
73%
2003
79%
2002
79%
2002
91%
1998-2002
27%
2003-2004
0%
2001-2002
0%
2004
0%
2004
22%
2003
22%
2003
0%
2002
0%
2002
0%
2001
0%
2001
0%
2004
0%
2003
20%
2001-2002
20%
2001-2002
0%
2003
0%
2003
9%
2001-2002
9%
2001-2002
91%
2003-2004
0%
2003
9%
2003-2004
0%
2001-2002
0%
2006
86%
2001-2002
68%
2004
63%
2003
57%
2002
59%
2001
65%
2005
53%
2005
65%
2004
80
2003
80
2003
80
2003
78
2002
78
2002
78
2002
73%
2001
29%
2001-2002
29%
2001-2002
45%
2001-2002
45%
2001-2002
25%
2005-2006
25%
2005-2006
0%
2001-2002
100%
2003-2004
100%
2003-2004
71%
2001-2002
-8
2001-2002
0%
2004
0%
2003
20%
2001-2002
20%
2001-2002
0%
2004
27%
2003-2004
0%
2001-2002
0%
2005
100%
2003
33%
2001-2002
33%
2001-2002
20%
2001
20%
2001
100%
2003-2004
44%
2005-2006
0%
2001
0%
2004
0%
2003
20%
2001-2002
20%
2001-2002
100%
2001
100%
2001
11%
2001-2002
64%
2003-2006
64%
2003-2006
62%
2003-2005
62%
2003-2005
47%
2003
47%
2003
33%
2002
33%
2002
24%
2001
24%
2001
25%
2005-2006
50%
2004
50%
2004
50%
2003-2004
100%
2003-2004
21%
2003-2004
44%
2001-2002
44%
2001-2002
0%
1997-1998
0%
1997-1998
0%
1995-1996
0%
1995-1996
0%
2005-2006
17%
2005-2006
17%
2005-2006
30%
2001-2002
30%
2001-2002
0%
2001-2002
0%
2001-2002
0%
2001
100%
2003-2004
100%
2003-2004
91%
1998-2002
27%
2003-2004
0%
2001-2002
0%
2004
0%
2004
22%
2003
22%
2003
0%
2002
0%
2002
0%
2001
0%
2001
100%
2003
-8
2001-2002
100%
2003
33%
2001-2002
33%
2001-2002
100%
2003
98%
2004
100%
2003-2004
100%
2003
90%
2001-2002
0%
2005
93%
2003-2004
95%
2003
95%
2003
95%
2001-2002
95%
2001-2002
65%
2005
40%
2005
65%
2005
53%
2005
53%
2005
65%
2004
65%
2004
80
2003
80
2003
80
2003
80
2003
80
2003
80
2003
78
2002
78
2002
78
2002
78
2002
78
2002
78
2002
73%
2001
73%
2001
37%
2006
13%
2005
13%
2005
50%
2004
50%
2004
25%
2004
25%
2004
38%
2003
38%
2003
53%
2002
53%
2002
60%
2001
60%
2001
0%
2005-2006
25%
2005-2006
25%
2005-2006
17%
2005-2006
17%
2005-2006
17%
2005-2006
17%
2005-2006
0%
2001-2002
100%
2002
0%
2003
0%
2003
9%
2001-2002
9%
2001-2002
40%
2001-2002
40%
2001-2002
0%
2002
100%
2003
33%
2001-2002
33%
2001-2002
33%
2003-2004
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