Alabama is home to some of the most conservative lawmakers in the nation, and according to new ratings published by the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), several Senate Republicans had an almost perfect conservative voting record in 2023.
To determine the legislative ratings, the Center for Legislative Accountability, an initiative of the CPAC Foundation, annually evaluates more than 105,000 bills introduced in both Congress and every state legislature from January 1 to December 31.
“In 1971, ACUF launched its Ratings of Congress to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the voting records of every Member of Congress. The Ratings quickly became considered the ‘gold standard’ and over the following decades have been utilized by activists, voters, academics and elected officials to determine which lawmakers best adhere to conservative principles,” according to the group.
State Sens. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville), Tim Melson (R-Florence) and Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) were rated the most conservative legislators in the higher chamber with a CPAC score of 89%. For Givhan, it represented a 16% increase in his score from 2022 while Melson saw an increase of 8%.
Last year, Givhan and Melson voted conservative on every piece of legislation introduced with the exception of Senate Bill 175, which would have established a grant program to reimburse the cost of tuition for individuals 25 years or older.
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“The CPAC FOUNDATION’s Center for Legislative Accountability is proud to present our Ratings of the States,” said Matt Schlapp, Chairman of CPAC. “Like our Ratings of Congress, CPAC’s Foundations Ratings of the states are meant to reflect how elected officials view the role of government in an individual’s life. We begin with our philosophy (conservatism is the political philosophy that sovereignty resides in the person) and then apply the proper role of government (its essential role is to defend Life, Liberty, and Property).”
Schlapp said that while progress has been made for conservative causes in Alabama, there is still room to grow.
“Alabama’s promotion of school choice and protection of women’s sports this past session should be celebrated,” continued Schlapp. “However, the legislature’s relatively limited success in other areas suggests that Republican legislators and Governor Kay Ivey should do more to live up to their potential.”
The top five Republicans in the state senate with the highest ratings were:
- Sam Givhan (89%)
- Tim Melson (89%)
- Arthur Orr (88%)
- Dan Roberts (88%)
- Shay Shelnutt (88%)
The full CPAC ranking and report for Alabama is available here.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.
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