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Average Ideology of the House and Senate, 1947 – 2014

July 9, 2013

The following graphics show the average ideology of the Republican and Democratic parties in Congress since World War II. In recent years, the Republican party has become far more conservative than the Democratic party has become liberal. The average ideology of the House has likewise become more conservative; this shift began during the 104th Congress.

This data was compiled from Tables 8-9 and 8-10 in Vital Statistics on Congress

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