RELATED STORIES: Searchable Vote Ratings • How The Vote Ratings Are Calculated • Key Votes: Senate · House • PREVIOUS 2007 COVERAGE: Obama: Most Liberal Senator In 2007 PAST SENATE RATINGS: (Subscribers Only) 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · 1996 · 1995 • PAST HOUSE RATINGS: (Subscribers Only) 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · 1996 · 1995

In the following list, senators^ are ranked according to their overall composite liberal or conservative scores based on National Journal's 2007 vote ratings. To see all the liberal scores used to determine the liberal composite score, click here. To see all the conservative scores used to determine the composite conservative score, click here.

You can sort the ratings from most or least liberal to conservative, and vice versa.

How To Read These Ratings
A score of 78 on the liberal scale, for example, means that the senator was more liberal than 78 percent of his or her Senate colleagues on key votes during 2007. "*" means the member missed more than half of the rated votes. "†" denotes members who are no longer in the Senate. In the event of a tie, scores are ordered alphabetically first by state delegation, then by individual members' names.

About these ratings

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^Three senators do not have scores for 2007 because they missed more than half of the rated votes in an issue area: John McCain, R-Ariz., who was running for president; Tim Johnson, D-S.D., who was recuperating from a brain hemorrhage and returned to work on September 5, 2007; Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., who died on June 4, 2007; and John Barrasso, R-Wyo., who was appointed to succeed Thomas on June 22, 2007.