Eighty-Seven Lawmakers Awarded for Conservative Voting Records

Alexandria, VA—The American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF) has just released its ratings of the 2018 meeting of the Minnesota Legislature. ACUF’s Ratings—both federal and state—are an initiative of ACUF’s Center for Legislative Accountability. These ratings are designed to reflect how over 8,000 of the nation’s elected officials view the role of government and illustrate the differences between chambers of the legislature, while revealing lawmakers’ positions on a wide variety of issues that directly affect Minnesotans.

ACUF reviewed each piece of legislation voted on in both the Senate and House to produce average scores of each chamber as well as individual scores for each sitting member. According to ACUF’s Year in Review, the Minnesota Legislature’s overall conservative score fell compared to the 2017 session (from 53.15 percent to 50.34 percent).

Minnesota legislators voted on key issues during the 2018 session. In one or both chambers, they voted to reduce tax rates for individuals and businesses, protect constitutionally-guaranteed Second Amendment rights, and defeat proposed health insurance mandates that would have driven up the cost of insurance for everyone.

“Liberals of the Minnesota Legislature lost key battles in the 2018 session for more government control over the health care choices, small business decisions, and hard-earned wages of ordinary Minnesotans,” said ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp. “We salute the handful of conservatives who defended the ability of Minnesotans to choose the health care insurance plans that best suit their families, and urge them to continue fighting for policies that will benefit everyone.”

The average score for Republican Minnesota House Representatives was 79 percent, while just 44 percent of all representatives earned awards for scoring 80 percent or better. The average score for Republican Minnesota Senators was 80 percent, while 43 percent of all senators earned awards. The overall average for the Minnesota Legislature was 50.34 percent.