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Maverick Watch — Cross-Party Votes
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Maverick Watch — Members Crossing Party Lines

Maverick Watch — Members Crossing Party Lines

On most votes, party discipline is near-total. On a few — close votes, conscience issues, regional concerns — members break ranks. Those breaks are often more politically meaningful than the unanimous-bloc votes that get the headlines.

This page tracks every member who voted against their party’s majority on the 50 most consequential votes of the 119th Congress, weighted by how close each vote was.


This week’s mavericks

Tim Burchett (R-Tennessee) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Josh Brecheen (R-Oklahoma) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Michael Cloud (R-Texas) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Andy Harris (R-Maryland) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Keith Self (R-Texas) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Donald G. Davis (D-North Carolina) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Jared F. Golden (D-Maine) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Washington) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Adam Gray (D-California) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Gabe Vasquez (D-New Mexico) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Jake Auchincloss (D-Massachusetts) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-05-21 · house · Yea-and-Nay

119th Congress maverick leaderboard

#MemberPartyStateChamberDefections
1Susan M. CollinsRMaineSenator1,467
2Lisa MurkowskiRAlaskaSenator1,195
3Rand PaulRKentuckySenator782
4Lindsey GrahamRSouth CarolinaSenator711
5Thomas MassieRKentuckyRep.705
6Brian K. FitzpatrickRPennsylvaniaRep.667
7Kevin MullinDCaliforniaRep.654
8Chip RoyRTexasRep.625
9Mike LeeRUtahSenator620
10Andy BiggsRArizonaRep.602
11Dusty JohnsonRSouth DakotaRep.531
12Ralph NormanRSouth CarolinaRep.494
13Scott PerryRPennsylvaniaRep.480
14Paul A. GosarRArizonaRep.472
15Lauren BoebertRColoradoRep.456
16Nicholas J. BegichRAlaskaRep.419
17Jared F. GoldenDMaineRep.411
18Thomas TillisRNorth CarolinaSenator411
19Tim BurchettRTennesseeRep.399
20Mitch McConnellRKentuckySenator382
21Michael CloudRTexasRep.379
22Andy HarrisRMarylandRep.374
23Shelley Moore CapitoRWest VirginiaSenator368
24Chuck GrassleyRIowaSenator366
25Andrew S. ClydeRGeorgiaRep.364

The closest votes

Most consequential party-line breaks happen on close votes. Here are the tightest of the cycle:

Closest Votes in Congress

Roll calls decided by the slimmest margins.

  1. HR1041 Yea-and-Nay Failed 2026-05-21
  2. HR1329 Yea-and-Nay Failed 2026-05-21
  3. PN851-6 On the Nomination PN851-6 Nomination Confirmed (52-47) 2026-05-20
  4. HRES1300 Recorded Vote Passed 2026-05-20
  5. HRES1300 Yea-and-Nay Passed 2026-05-20
  6. HR2616 Yea-and-Nay Failed 2026-05-20
  7. PN851-6 On the Cloture Motion PN851-6 Cloture Motion Agreed to (50-47) 2026-05-19
  8. SJRes185 On the Motion to Discharge S.J.Res. 185 Motion to Discharge Agreed to (50-47) 2026-05-19
  9. PN726-1 On the Nomination PN806-1 and PN730-1 and PN852-7 and PN730-61 and PN730-26 and PN730-44 and PN806-4 and PN730-5 and PN7 Nomination Confirmed (46-43) 2026-05-18
  10. PN806-1 On the Cloture Motion PN726-1 and PN726-3 and PN726-7 and PN726-10 and PN726-13 and PN726-14 and PN730-41 and PN730-48 a Cloture Motion Agreed to (51-46) 2026-05-14
  11. HCONRES75 Yea-and-Nay Failed 2026-05-14
  12. HR6260 Yea-and-Nay Failed 2026-05-14
  13. HR8365 Yea-and-Nay Failed 2026-05-14
  14. SJRes163 On the Motion to Discharge S.J.Res. 163 Motion to Discharge Rejected (49-50) 2026-05-13
  15. SJRes132 On the Motion to Proceed S.J.Res. 132 Motion to Proceed Rejected (48-52) 2026-05-13

Coverage


Frequently Asked

How is “consequential” defined?

Votes weighted by margin (close votes count more), bill substance (laws ranked higher than procedural motions), and chamber (final passage votes ranked higher than committee votes).

Is this the same as “moderate” or “centrist”?

Not exactly. A member can be ideologically extreme but cross the aisle frequently on specific issues. Maverick score measures behavior, not ideology.

How is the score calculated?

Each cross-party vote earns points proportional to (1) how rare the cross was within the member’s party for that vote, and (2) how close the overall vote was. Summed across all votes, normalized to 0-100.

Does maverick voting predict election outcomes?

Mixed evidence. Some districts reward visible independence; others punish it. We track the votes; we don’t predict the elections.