Club for Growth Foundation Issues State Legislative Scorecards In Florida, New Mexico, Tennessee, And Virginia

Joe Kildea  |   August 15, 2019

The Club for Growth Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization focused on educating the public about the value of free markets, pro-growth policies, and economic prosperity, has released 2019 Legislative Scorecards for Florida, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Virginia as part of a new initiative. The organization has also issued a 2018 Florida Legislative Scorecard.“The Club for Growth 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 Legislative Scorecards will help educate citizens about which elected officials are champions of pro-growth policies at the state level.” said Club for Growth President David McIntosh.

Elected officials who scored 90% or better in a given calendar year and also had lifetime scores of 90% or better are recognized as Defenders of Economic Freedom by the Club for Growth. Only two elected officials received a perfect rating of 100% in 2019, Del. Nick Freitas of Virginia and Rep. James Grant of Florida.

Every year, the Club for Growth Foundation will issue Scorecards for several states. Additional state Scorecards will be released this year when ready for publication.

Key takeaways from each Scorecard and the names of the individuals who have been named by the Club for Growth as Defenders of Economic Freedom follow.

Key Takeaways – Florida’s 2019 State Legislative Scorecard
  • Florida Senate
    • 1 Florida State Senator Was Recognized As Defenders Of Economic Freedom
    • 23 Republicans & 17 Democrats
    • Average Republican Score: 83%
    • Average Democrat Score: 42%
    • Highest Rated Republican: Sen. Tom Lee, 94%
    • Lowest Rated Republican: Sen. George Gainer, 61%
    • Highest Rated Democrat: Sen. Bill Montford, 62%
    • Lowest Rated Democrat: Sen. Gary Farmer, 23%
  • Florida House
    • 66 Florida State Representative Were Recognized As Defenders Of Economic Freedom
    • 71 Republicans & 46 Democrats (3 Vacancies)
    • Average Republican Score: 96%
    • Average Democrat Score: 43%
    • Highest Rated Republican: Del. James Grant, 100%
    • Lowest Rated Republican: Del. Thad Altman, 85%
    • Highest Rated Democrat: Del. James Bush, 82%
    • Lowest Rated Democrat: Del. Kamia Brown, 13%

 

Key Takeaways – Florida’s 2018 State Legislative Scorecard
  •  Florida Senate
    • 23 Republicans & 15 Democrats (2 Vacancies)
    • Average Republican Score: 87%
    • Average Democrat Score: 50%
    • Highest Rated Republican: Sen. Rene Garcia, 94%
    • Lowest Rated Republican: Sen. Tom Lee, 49%
    • Highest Rated Democrat: Sen. Lauren Book, 75%
    • Lowest Rated Democrat: Sen. Jose Rodriguez & Sen. Perry Thurston, 29%
  • Florida House
    • 76 Republicans & 41 Democrats (3 Vacancies)
    • Average Republican Score: 87%
    • Average Democrat Score: 36%
    • Highest Rated Republican: Rep. Cary Pigman, 95%
    • Lowest Rated Republican: Rep. Bill Hager, 72%
    • Highest Rated Democrat: Rep. Katie Edwards, 83%
    • Lowest Rated Democrat: Rep. Cynthia Stafford, 19%

 

Key Takeaways – New Mexico’s 2019 State Legislative Scorecard
  • New Mexico Senate
    • 0 New Mexico State Senators Were Recognized As Defenders Of Economic Freedom
    • 16 Republicans & 26 Democrats
    • Average Republican Score: 53%
    • Average Democrat Score: 12%
    • Highest Rated Republican: Sen. William Sharer, 72%
    • Lowest Rated Republican: Sen. Sander Rue, 31%
    • Highest Rated Democrat: Sen. George Munoz, 24%
    • Lowest Rated Democrat: Sen. John Sapien, 7%
  • New Mexico House
    • 0 New Mexico State Representatives Were Recognized As Defenders Of Economic Freedom
    • 24 Republicans & 46 Democrats
    • Average Republican Score: 69%
    • Average Democrat Score: 11%
    • Highest Rated Republican: Rep. Paul Bandy, 85%
    • Lowest Rated Republican: Rep. Rebecca Dow, 48%
    • Highest Rated Democrat: Rep. Candie Sweetser, 36%
    • Lowest Rated Democrat: Rep. Andres Romero, 2%

 

Key Takeaways – Tennessee’s 2019 State Legislative Scorecard
  • Tennessee Senate
    • 0 Tennessee State Senators Were Recognized As Defenders Of Economic Freedom
    • 28 Republicans & 5 Democrats
    • Average Republican Score: 64%
    • Average Democrat Score: 37%
    • Highest Rated Republican: Sen. Ferrell Haile, 82%
    • Lowest Rated Republican: Sen. Richard Briggs & Sen. Todd Gardenhire, 45%
    • Highest Rated Democrat: Sen. Sara Kyle: 42%
    • Lowest Rated Democrat: Sen. Katrina Robinson, 32%
  • Tennessee House
    • 1 Tennessee State Representative Was Recognized As A Defender Of Economic Freedom
    • 73 Republicans & 26 Democrats
    • Average Republican Score: 67%
    • Average Democrat Score: 34%
    • Highest Rated Republican: Rep. Debra Moody, 90%
    • Lowest Rated Republican: Rep. John Holsclaw & Del. Kevin Vaughan, 45%
    • Highest Rated Democrat: Rep. John DeBerry, 67%
    • Lowest Rated Democrat: Rep. Gloria Johnson & Del. Mike Stewart, 17%

 

Key Takeaways – Virginia’s 2019 State Legislative Scorecard
  • Virginia Senate
    • 0 Virginia State Senators Were Recognized As Defenders Of Economic Freedom
    • 21 Republicans & 19 Democrats
    • Average Republican Score: 55%
    • Average Democrat Score: 15%
    • Highest Rated Republican: Sen. David Suetterlein, 80%
    • Lowest Rated Republican: Sen. Charles Carrico & Sen. Bill DeSteph, 43%
    • Highest Rated Democrat: Sen. Jeremy McPike, 31%
    • Lowest Rated Democrat: Sen. Scott Surovell, 0%
  • Virginia House
    • 2 Virginia State Delegates Were Recognized As Defenders Of Economic Freedom
    • 51 Republicans & 49 Democrats
    • Average Republican Score: 63%
    • Average Democrat Score: 19%
    • Highest Rated Republican: Del. Nick Freitas, 100%
    • Lowest Rated Republican: Del. Gordon Helsel, Del. Barry Knight, & Del. David Yancey, 47%
    • Highest Rated Democrat: Del. Elizabeth Guzman, 30%
    • Lowest Rated Democrat: Del. Jeion Ward, 0%

The following elected state officials have been recognized by the Club for Growth as Defenders of Economic Freedom in 2019.

Florida
  • Sen. Travis Hutson
  • Rep. Vance Aloupis
  • Rep. Alex Andrade
  • Rep. Melony Bell
  • Rep. Mike Beltran
  • Rep. Chuck Brannan
  • Rep. James Buchanan
  • Rep. Colleen Burton
  • Rep. Cord Byrd
  • Rep. Mike Caruso
  • Rep. Chuck Clemons
  • Rep. Travis W. Cummings
  • Rep. Nicola DiCeglie
  • Rep. Byron Donalds
  • Rep. Brad Drake
  • Rep. Wyman Duggan
  • Rep. Dane Eagle
  • Rep. Juan Fernandez-Barquin
  • Rep. Elizabeth Fetterhoff
  • Rep. Randy Fine
  • Rep. Jason Fischer
  • Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen
  • Rep. Erin Grall
  • Rep. James Grant
  • Rep. Michael Grant
  • Rep. Tommy Gregory
  • Rep. Brett Hage
  • Rep. Mike Hill
  • Rep. Blaise Ingoglia
  • Rep. Chip LaMarca
  • Rep. Mike LaRosa
  • Rep. Chris Latvala
  • Rep. Tom Leek
  • Rep. MaryLynn Mager
  • Rep. Amber Mariano
  • Rep. Ralph Massullo
  • Rep. Stan McClain
  • Rep. Lawrence McClure
  • Rep. Jose Olivia
  • Rep. Toby Overdorf
  • Rep. Bobby Payne
  • Rep. Daniel Perez
  • Rep. Cary Pigman
  • Rep. Mel Ponder
  • Rep. Holly Raschein
  • Rep. Paul Renner
  • Rep. Spencer Roach
  • Rep. Will Robinson
  • Rep. Ray Rodrigues
  • Rep. Ana Rodriguez
  • Rep. Anthony Rodriguez
  • Rep. Bob Rommel
  • Rep. Rick Roth
  • Rep. Anthony Sabatini
  • Rep. David Santiago
  • Rep. Tyler Sirois
  • Rep. David Smith
  • Rep. Chris Sprowls
  • Rep. Cyndi Stevenson
  • Rep. Charlie Stone
  • Rep. Jennifer Sullivan
  • Rep. Jackie Toledo
  • Rep. Josie Tomkow
  • Rep. Jay Trumbull
  • Rep. Jayer Williamson
  • Rep. Clay Yarborough
  • Rep. Adrian Zika
Tennessee
  • Rep. Debra Moody
Virginia
  • Del. Mark Cole
  • Del. Nick Freitas