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RINO WatchWeeding Out the RINOs

🧮 How the RINO Score works

A label like "RINO" is only worth something if it is fair and anyone can check it. Here is exactly how every number on this site is made.

1. 📜 The data

Every recorded vote of the House and Senate comes from Voteview, the roll-call database kept by political scientists at UCLA. It copies the official tallies published by the Senate and the House Clerk. Every key vote on this site links to the official page so you can check it yourself.

Votes counted through September 30, 2026 in the Senate and September 16, 2026 in the House.

2. 🧮 The formula

The RINO Score runs from 0 (never crosses over) to 100 (votes like a Democrat). It has three parts:

55%🎯 Key votes

The weighted share of this Congress's key votes on which they voted the Democratic side. Missed votes are not counted against them.

30%↔️ Party-line votes

The share of all party-split roll calls (most Republicans one way, most Democrats the other) on which they voted with the Democrats, multiplied by 4, so 25% or more counts as full marks.

15%🧭 Overall pattern

Their DW-NOMINATE ideology rank among Republicans in the same chamber: 100 for the most liberal Republican, 0 for the most conservative.

Key votes are weighted: 3 for core America First priorities (Trump's top nominees, the Big Beautiful Bill, the SAVE Act, ICE funding, impeachment), 2 for important votes, and 1 for breaks with the President on which some America First conservatives also split (war powers, tariffs).

3. 🏷️ The verdicts

  • 🦏 Certified RINO score 60 or more: Sides with the Democrats on a large share of the votes that matter.
  • 🚨 RINO Alert score 40 or more: Breaks with the party often enough to worry about.
  • ⚠️ Wobbly score 25 or more: Usually with the team, but has crossed on some key votes.
  • ✅ Reliable score 0 or more: Votes with Republicans and President Trump almost every time.
  • 🐎 Maverick in the most conservative 25% of Republicans and still scoring 25 or more. Breaks ranks, but from the RIGHT: votes more conservative than most Republicans.
  • ➖ Not rated fewer than 40 party-line votes this Congress.

4. ⚖️ Honest limits

  • Votes are not everything. A member can attack the President on TV and still vote with the party. The score measures votes only; the profiles tell the rest.
  • Procedural votes. The Senate Majority Leader often votes "no" on a failed motion only so he can bring it up again later. We do not count those votes against John Thune.
  • Delegates. The House members from Guam, the Northern Marianas and other territories cannot vote on final passage, so they are left out.
  • People who left. Members who died, resigned or switched parties keep their numbers but are not ranked. Kevin Kiley is scored only on his votes as a Republican.
  • Absences are not counted either way.

5. 🗳️ The key votes, by topic

🧑‍⚖️ Blocking Trump's team

💵 Taxes, spending & DOGE cuts

🛂 Border & immigration

🗳️ Election integrity

🏭 Tariffs & America First trade

🎖️ War powers

⚖️ Impeachment & January 6

🛡️ Second Amendment

👪 Faith, family & values

🏥 Obamacare

🏗️ Big Labor & big government

6. 🗺️ The state map

On the state map each tile shows the most RINO-ish Republican from that state: red if the state has a Certified RINO, orange for a RINO Alert, yellow for a Wobbly, green if every Republican is Reliable or a Maverick, grey if the state has no Republican in Congress. The number on a tile is how many Republicans the state has in office. The colour says who is worst, not how the whole delegation votes: open the state page for every member. Members who switched parties are listed but not counted as Republicans, and Democrats are not scored.

7. ⬇️ Get the data

Download the full scorecard (CSV) to check our math in a spreadsheet.