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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

Eric Burlison (R-Missouri) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-07-20 · house
Josh Brecheen (R-Oklahoma) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-07-20 · house
Elijah Crane (R-Arizona) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-07-20 · house
Pat Harrigan (R-North Carolina) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-07-20 · house
Chip Roy (R-Texas) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-07-20 · house
Keith Self (R-Texas) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-07-20 · house
Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-07-16 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Max L. Miller (R-Ohio) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-07-16 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Jefferson Van Drew (R-New Jersey) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-07-16 · house · Yea-and-Nay
Susan M. Collins (R-Maine) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-07-16 · senate
Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) voted Nay while party majority went Yea
2026-07-16 · senate
Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-07-15 · house · Recorded Vote
Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-07-15 · house · Recorded Vote
Tim Burchett (R-Tennessee) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-07-15 · house · Recorded Vote
Aaron Bean (R-Florida) voted Yea while party majority went Nay
2026-07-15 · house · Recorded Vote

119th Congress maverick leaderboard

#MemberPartyStateChamberDefections
1Susan M. CollinsRMaineSenator1,487
2Lisa MurkowskiRAlaskaSenator1,213
3Rand PaulRKentuckySenator789
4Thomas MassieRKentuckyRep.725
5Lindsey GrahamRSouth CarolinaSenator711
6Brian K. FitzpatrickRPennsylvaniaRep.678
7Kevin MullinDCaliforniaRep.654
8Chip RoyRTexasRep.641
9Mike LeeRUtahSenator624
10Andy BiggsRArizonaRep.610
11Dusty JohnsonRSouth DakotaRep.532
12Ralph NormanRSouth CarolinaRep.499
13Scott PerryRPennsylvaniaRep.485
14Paul A. GosarRArizonaRep.478
15Lauren BoebertRColoradoRep.464
16Jared F. GoldenDMaineRep.423
17Nicholas J. BegichRAlaskaRep.420
18Thomas TillisRNorth CarolinaSenator419
19Tim BurchettRTennesseeRep.410
20Michael CloudRTexasRep.387
21Andy HarrisRMarylandRep.384
22Mitch McConnellRKentuckySenator384
23Andrew S. ClydeRGeorgiaRep.372
24Shelley Moore CapitoRWest VirginiaSenator368
25Chuck GrassleyRIowaSenator366

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. PN938-1 On the Cloture Motion PN938-1 Cloture Motion Agreed to (43-40) 2026-07-20
  2. SJRes198 On the Motion to Proceed S.J.Res. 198 Motion to Proceed Rejected (46-50) 2026-07-16
  3. HR9237 Yea-and-Nay Failed 2026-07-16
  4. PN851-8 On the Cloture Motion PN851-8 Cloture Motion Agreed to (49-48) 2026-07-16
  5. PN930-4 On the Nomination PN930-4 Nomination Confirmed (51-46) 2026-07-15
  6. PN930-4 On the Cloture Motion PN930-4 Cloture Motion Agreed to (51-46) 2026-07-15
  7. HRES1423 Recorded Vote Passed 2026-07-14
  8. S4784 On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed S. 4784 Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected (50-46, 3/5 majority required) 2026-07-14
  9. PN938-2 On the Nomination PN938-2 Nomination Confirmed (50-45) 2026-07-14
  10. PN930-3 On the Nomination PN930-3 Nomination Confirmed (46-44) 2026-07-13
  11. HRES1398 Yea-and-Nay Passed 2026-06-30
  12. SJRes185 On the Motion to Proceed S.J.Res. 185 Motion to Proceed Rejected (47-50) 2026-06-24
  13. HConRes86 On the Concurrent Resolution H.Con.Res. 86 Concurrent Resolution Agreed to (50-48) 2026-06-23
  14. SJRes190 On the Motion to Proceed S.J.Res. 190 Motion to Proceed Rejected (46-48) 2026-06-16
  15. SJRes172 On the Motion to Discharge S.J.Res. 172 Motion to Discharge Rejected (47-48) 2026-06-16

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.