11 Aug Maverick of the Week: 5 Members Who Broke From Their Caucus

Week of 2026-08-11. 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 3 votes this week. Example: on 2026-08-08, voted Nay on PN1078 while their caucus majority voted Yea.
2. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska, senate) — broke from caucus on 2 votes this week. Example: on 2026-08-08, voted Nay on PN1078 while their caucus majority voted Yea.
3. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia, senate) — broke from caucus on 2 votes this week. Example: on 2026-08-05, voted Yea on PN932 while their caucus majority voted Nay.
4. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin, senate) — broke from caucus on 1 votes this week. Example: on 2026-08-07, voted Nay on On the Amendment S.Amdt. 6715 to S.Amdt. 6711 to H.R. 5334 (No short title on fi while their caucus majority voted Yea.
5. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut, senate) — broke from caucus on 1 votes this week. Example: on 2026-08-07, voted Nay on On the Amendment S.Amdt. 6715 to S.Amdt. 6711 to H.R. 5334 (No short title on fi while their caucus majority voted Yea.

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.