ALABAMA – On Thursday, Club for Growth released its annual metrics grading the Alabama Legislature on economic policy and attendance with its Economic and Missed Vote Scorecards.
Scores were generally low on average for economic policy but topping the charts on the economic scorecard were State Sen. Shay Shelnutt (R-Trussville) in the upper chamber and State Rep. Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals) in the lower chamber with scores of 38% and 69% respectively.
On attendance, State Sen. Steve Livingston (R-Scottsboro) and State Rep. Joe Faust (R-Fairhope) led the way, with Livingston missing only four votes and Faust 15.
Club for Growth President David McIntosh was critical of Alabama’s “one-party” rule in a statement that accompanied the scorecards. He also noted the lackluster attendance numbers, calling lawmakers that skipped votes “borderline fraudulent.”
“The Foundation’s Congressional Scorecard is already the gold-standard in publishing the voting records of Senators and Members of the U.S. House of Representatives on economic legislation, and the State Economic Scorecards help educate citizens about which elected officials are champions of pro-growth policies at the state level,” McIntosh said in the statement. “Alabama is widely considered a ‘one-party’ state, but people would be mistaken if they thought the ‘one party’ was the conservative, limited government GOP. Instead, the Republicans in Montgomery have been advancing big government, anti-growth policies over the last several months. Worst, these abysmal 2020 ratings are just part of the story. The politicians in the state capitol routinely avoid casting votes. It’s borderline fraudulent for these lawmakers to take a paycheck only to skip out on doing the one thing taxpayers expect them to do – vote!”
Highlights of Economic Scorecard:
Alabama Senate
Average Republican Score: 21%
Average Democrat Score: 6%
Highest-Rated Republican: Sen. Shay Shelnutt (SD-17) – 38%
Highest-Rated Democrat: Sen. Malika Sanders-Fortier (SD-23) – 10%
Lowest-Rated Republicans: Sen. Cam Ward (SD-14) – 12%
Sen. Thomas Whatley (SD-27) – 12%
Sen. Jack Williams (SD-34) – 12%
Lowest-Rated Democrats: Sen. David Burkette (SD-26) – 0%
Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison (SD-20) – 0%
Alabama House
Average Republican Score: 15%
Average Democrat Score: 0%
Highest-Rated Republican: Rep. Andrew Sorrell (HD-03) – 69%
Highest-Rated Democrat: Rep. Prince Chestnut (HD-67) – 10%
Lowest-Rated Republican: Rep. Ritchie Whorton (HD-22) – 7%
Lowest-Rated Democrat: Several with 0%
Highlights of Missed Vote Scorecard:
Alabama Senate
The average Alabama state senator missed 15% of the total 323 floor votes. Senator Priscilla Dunn missed the most votes – 323 votes out of 323 – for a score of 100%. By missing only 4 votes, Sen. Steve Livingston received the best score of just 1%.
Alabama House
The average Alabama house member missed a whopping 30% of the total 359 floor votes. Rep. Juandalynn Givan (HD-60) missed the most votes – 249 votes out of 359 – for a score of 69%. By missing just 15 votes, Rep. Joe Faust (HD-94) had the best score of just 4%.
