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Erik Paulsen's Ratings and Endorsements

Vote Smart displays all known interest group ratings for each candidate and official, regardless of issue or bias.

Keep in mind that ratings done by special interest groups often do not represent a non-partisan stance. In addition, some groups select votes that tend to favor members of one political party over another, rather than choosing votes based solely on issue concerns. Nevertheless, they can be invaluable in showing where an incumbent has stood on a series of votes in the past one or two years, especially when ratings by groups on all sides of an issue are compared. Website links, if available, and descriptions of the organizations offering performance evaluations are accessible by clicking on the name of the group.

With rare exceptions, Vote Smart displays interest group ratings as a 0-100 percentage. While many interest groups use percentages as ratings to begin with, please note that Vote Smart has translated some ratings to a percentage from a different rating system for consistency and ease in understanding. Please visit the group's website, email us at ratings@votesmart.org or call our Voter Information Hotline at 1-888-VOTESMART for more specific information.

75%
2014
88%
2009-2010
88%
2009-2010
80%
2017-2018
93%
2015-2016
93%
2015-2016
100%
2013-2014
100%
2013-2014
100%
2011-2012
100%
2011-2012
100%
2009-2010
100%
2009-2010
100%
2009
100%
2009
90%
2014
100%
2011
100%
2011
100%
2009-2010
100%
2009-2010
100%
2018
89%
2017
89%
2017
100%
2016
100%
2016
91%
2015
91%
2015
100%
2014
100%
2014
92%
2013
92%
2013
93%
2012
93%
2012
93%
2011
93%
2011
76%
2009
80%
2015
63%
2013
100%
2013
100%
2013
82%
2013
63%
2013
82%
2013
80%
2009
80%
2009
58%
2009
58%
2009
53%
2017-2018
53%
2017-2018
52%
2015-2016
52%
2015-2016
52%
2015-2016
52%
2015-2016
55%
2015
55%
2015
69%
2014
55%
2014
55%
2014
69%
2014
55%
2013-2014
55%
2013-2014
55%
2013-2014
55%
2013-2014
70%
2013
70%
2013
68%
2011-2012
68%
2011-2012
68%
2011-2012
68%
2011-2012
80%
2011
80%
2011
90%
2011
90%
2011
90%
2010
90%
2010
80%
2009-2010
80%
2009-2010
78%
2009-2010
78%
2009-2010
73%
2009-2010
73%
2009-2010
80%
2009-2010
80%
2009-2010
73%
2009-2010
73%
2009-2010
78%
2009-2010
78%
2009-2010
50%
2009
90%
2009
70%
2009
70%
2009
90%
2009
50%
2009
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