Polarization Dashboard
Mapping the ideological divide in the 119th Congress using DW-NOMINATE scores from Voteview. Scores range from -1 (most liberal) to +1 (most conservative).
Avg Democrat Score
-0.383
Avg Republican Score
+0.533
Partisan Gap
0.916
Moderates
18
of 547 members (|score| < 0.2)
Party Gap Visualization
Average DW-NOMINATE scores by party in the 119th Congress
Historical context: The partisan gap in Congress has grown dramatically over the past half-century. In the 1970s the average gap between the parties was roughly 0.5. By the 2000s it had crossed 0.7, and today it stands above 0.9 -- meaning the average Democrat and the average Republican are further apart ideologically than at any time in modern congressional history. This polarization is driven by the disappearance of centrist members from both parties and increasing party-line voting.
Party Distribution
Where all 547 members fall on the liberal-conservative spectrum
House of Representatives
Senate
Closest to Center
Most moderate/bipartisan members
Most Extreme
Members furthest from center