07 Jun Maverick of the Week: 5 Members Who Broke From Their Caucus

Week of 2026-06-07. Drawn from official Congress.gov roll-call records.

The defectors

Out of every recorded roll-call vote in the past seven days where the Democratic and Republican caucuses split, these members were most likely to vote with the opposite caucus rather than their own:

1. Susan M. Collins (R-Maine, senate) — broke from caucus on 13 votes this week. Example: on 2026-06-05, voted Yea on On the Motion (Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: Coons Amd while their caucus majority voted Nay.
2. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska, senate) — broke from caucus on 12 votes this week. Example: on 2026-06-05, voted Yea on On the Amendment S.Amdt. 5813 to S.Amdt. 5453 to S. 2 (No short title on file) while their caucus majority voted Nay.
3. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska, senate) — broke from caucus on 8 votes this week. Example: on 2026-06-05, voted Yea on On the Motion (Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: Coons Amd while their caucus majority voted Nay.
4. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana, senate) — broke from caucus on 7 votes this week. Example: on 2026-06-05, voted Yea on On the Motion (Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: Coons Amd while their caucus majority voted Nay.
5. Thomas Tillis (R-North Carolina, senate) — broke from caucus on 7 votes this week. Example: on 2026-06-05, voted Yea on On the Motion (Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: Coons Amd while their caucus majority voted Nay.

Why this matters

Cross-caucus voting is one of the cleanest indicators of a member’s willingness to break from party leadership when conscience, district, or coalition demands it. It’s not a left-right axis — it’s a caucus-discipline axis. See methodology for how we compute this.

What we don’t show

We don’t classify why a member broke from their caucus. The reasons can range from principled dissent to district pressure to procedural maneuvering. We surface the data; you bring the interpretation.

Sources: Congress.gov roll-call records. About Purple Voice.