U.S. Senate · Vermont

Sen. Bernard Sanders

Independent (caucuses with Democrats) Serving since Jan. 4, 2007Term ends Jan. 3, 2031Missed 7% of votes (64 of 915) · How this is measured

Where they sit

Seated by voting record in the Senate. Percentiles run from 0 (most liberal) to 100 (most conservative).

How this is measured →
Sanders
← Most liberalThe aisleMost conservative →
Votes with DemocratsCrosses party linesVotes with Republicans

Bernard Sanders's seat is marked. Seats run from most liberal (left) to most conservative (right). Color shows how often each member crosses party lines toward the middle on votes that divide the parties: solid blue or red means almost never, and purple means on at least 1 in 10 of those votes. Gray seats are members too new to score. How this is measured

All of Congress3rdpercentile
More liberal than 97% of all members of Congress.
Most liberalMost conservative
15th most liberal of 531
Democrats in Congress5thpercentile
More liberal than 94% of Democrats in Congress.
Most liberalMost conservative
15th most liberal of 259
The Senate2ndpercentile
More liberal than 97% of Senate members.
Most liberalMost conservative
3rd most liberal of 100

This score measures who votes with whom. A member who votes no because a bill goes too far, or not far enough, can look more moderate than their views.

With their party and with the President

How this is measured →
Votes with own party
100%
Q1 2025: 100% → Q3 2026: 100%

Higher than 43 of 47 Senate Democrats.

Actual100%
Expected100%
DifferenceAbout the same

Expected is the typical score for senators of the same party whose states voted like this one for president in 2024.

Democrats Republicans 65%100%

Each line is one Senate member, grouped by party. The dot is Bernard Sanders. The dark line is what we'd expect given how this state voted for president in 2024.

On 778 votes that split the partiesReal votes only: 100%See the 778 votes
How this is measured
Votes with the President
1%all votes
Q1 2025: 4% → Q3 2026: 0%

Lower than 44 of 47 Senate Democrats.

Actual1%
Expected1%
DifferenceAbout the same

Expected is the typical score for senators of the same party whose states voted like this one for president in 2024.

Democrats Republicans 0%100%

Each line is one Senate member, grouped by party. The dot is Bernard Sanders. The dark line is what we'd expect given how this state voted for president in 2024.

Based on 279 votes1% on legislation onlySee the 279 votes
How this is measured

Where they broke ranks

Votes where Bernard Sanders went against most of their party or against the President's stated position.

Every vote

Every roll call in the Senate this Congress, with how Bernard Sanders voted, how their party voted and the President's position.

How this is measured
DateVoteTheir voteMost of their partyPresident wantedResult
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A dash means the parties didn't split on that vote, or the President took no public position before it. “Party-line” and “President took a position” list exactly the votes each score counts: the ones cast Yes or No. Missed votes don't count either way and are under “Missed”.

Votes most like

Bernard Sanders and Peter Welch voted the same way on 94% of votes.

How Vermont voted for president in 2024

Harris 64.4%Trump 32.6%

Issue by issue

How often Bernard Sanders votes with their party, and with the President, on each kind of issue. Issues are the policy areas Congress assigns to each bill. "With their party" counts only votes where most Democrats and most Republicans voted on opposite sides; "With the President" counts only votes where he took a public position first.

Bernard Sanders sides with their party least often on Armed Forces and National Security (90%).

Bernard SandersAverage for Senate Democrats
  1. Armed Forces and National Security 90%Average 97% · 10 votes on Armed Forces and National Security
  2. Nominations 100%Average 94% · 398 votes on Nominations
  3. Economics and Public Finance 100%Average 98% · 183 votes on Economics and Public Finance
  4. International Affairs 100%Average 93% · 29 votes on International Affairs
  5. Immigration 100%Average 95% · 33 votes on Immigration
  6. Public Lands and Natural Resources 100%Average 99% · 15 votes on Public Lands and Natural Resources
  7. Environmental Protection 100%Average 99% · 16 votes on Environmental Protection
  8. Finance and Financial Sector 100%Average 87% · 17 votes on Finance and Financial Sector
  9. Energy 100%Average 98% · 11 votes on Energy
  10. Government Operations and Politics 100%Average 99% · 13 votes on Government Operations and Politics
  11. Transportation and Public Works 100%Average 100% · 12 votes on Transportation and Public Works
  12. Congress 100%Average 100% · 12 votes on Congress
  13. Foreign Trade and International Finance 100%Average 100% · 6 votes on Foreign Trade and International Finance
  14. Taxation 100%Average 77% · 7 votes on Taxation

Fewer than 5 party-line votes, so not charted: Sports and Recreation (4 votes), Health (4 votes), Emergency Management (2 votes), Science, Technology, Communications (2 votes), Education (2 votes), Crime and Law Enforcement (1 vote), Families (1 vote).

Bipartisan bills led

1 passed their chamber · 0 became law

How this is measured →
How far each bill got:IntroducedPassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law

Contact and committees

Contact

D.C. office phone
202-224-5141
Office
332 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
Official website
www.sanders.senate.gov
Contact form
www.sanders.senate.gov

Committees

  • Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Ranking member
    3 subcommittees
    • Education and the American Family Ex officio
    • Employment and Workplace Safety Ex officio
    • Primary Health and Retirement Security Ex officio
  • Committee on Environment and Public Works
    3 subcommittees
    • Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight
    • Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Innovation and Safety
    • Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife
  • Committee on Finance
    3 subcommittees
    • Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy Ranking member
    • Health Care
    • Taxation and IRS Oversight
  • Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • Committee on the Budget

Committee data: the congress-legislators project (public domain), refreshed with every update. Chair and ranking-member roles as published there.

Votes: Voteview (UCLA). Bills: Congress.gov. President's positions: our public list. 2024 results by district: The Downballot. How this is measured · Corrections

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