With the beginning of the presidential caucuses and primaries just one week away, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today released the lifetime ratings of the remaining 2016 Presidential candidates who served in Congress, based on their most recent elected office. The ratings, which have been issued annually since 1990, identify which members of Congress voted to protect taxpayers and which voted against their interests on spending and taxes.

The average rating of the remaining Democratic candidates is 5.5 percent. The average rating of the remaining Republican candidates is 91.6 percent. These figures track closely to the CCAGW 2014 Congressional Ratings averages of all Senate Republicans and Democrats, which are 85 percent and 5 percent, respectively, as well as House Republicans and Democrats, which are 84 percent and 9 percent, respectively. CCAGW will unveil its 2015 Congressional Ratings this spring.

CCAGW President Tom Schatz said, “The candidates’ ratings reiterate the substantial gap between Republicans and Democrats on spending and taxes. They also once again show that Hillary Clinton’s voting record is much closer to Bernie Sanders’ voting record than many people might believe. Under CCAGW’s rating categories, every Democratic candidate is 'hostile,' and all Republicans are 'taxpayer heroes.' The highest lifetime ratings belong to the three most recently-elected senators – Ted Cruz at 99 percent, and Rand Paul and Marco Rubio at 95 percent. Those three Senators were all Taxpayer Super Heroes with perfect 100 percent ratings in 2014. While there are many ways to evaluate candidates and the ratings cover only those who served in Congress, CCAGW’s lifetime ratings are a valuable tool for voters during the long campaign for President.”

         

Democratic Candidates

  

Office Held

  

CCAGW Lifetime Rating

Hillary Clinton   Senator, New York, 2001-2009   8%
Bernie Sanders   Senator, Vermont, 2007-present   3%
         

Republican Candidates

  

Office Held

  

CCAGW Lifetime Rating

Ted Cruz   Senator, Texas, 2013-present   99%
John Kasich   Representative, Ohio, 1983-2001   89%
Rand Paul   Senator, Kentucky, 2011-present   95%
Marco Rubio   Senator, Florida, 2011-present   95%
Rick Santorum   Senator, Pennsylvania, 1995-2007   80%
   

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.