Below we use Common Space DW-NOMINATE scores to compare polarization in the current (114th) and previous Congresses. Common Space scores permit comparability across time and between the House and Senate.
The distribution of the ideological (first dimension) scores of the House and Senate Democrats and Republicans in both Congresses are shown below, with the mean scores of members in both parties and chambers marked in the plot.
The results indicate that polarization (i.e., the ideological distance between the two parties) has increased slightly in the House, but has decreased slightly in the Senate. The entry of freshman Republicans such as Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD) [with a score of 0.189], Ben Sasse (R-NE) [0.277], and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) [0.285] has moved the Republican Senate mean slightly to the left in the 114th Congress. In the House, both the Democratic mean and the Republican mean have moved away from the center, but only slightly. The long-term polarization trends in both chambers are shown in the second plot.
These images are from a new (nearly) stand-alone Common Space DW-NOMINATE program that can be run weekly as new roll calls are cast.
Click image to enlarge
Would it be possible to acquire your estimates for the individual legislators from the 114th Congress? It would be a great boon to my thesis to have the freshest data on this matter.
LikeLike
Send e-mail to ktpoole@uga.edu and we can give them to you.
LikeLike
Send e-mail to Keith Poole at ktpoole@uga.edu and we can give them to you.
LikeLike
[…] takeaway: In this light, the bill is virtually doomed – the GOP Senate Caucus has actually moved leftwards since 2012, contrary to popular wisdom. The pivotal Senator here is probably Dean Heller, already an avowed […]
LikeLike