Measuring Legislator Ideology*

John D. Griffin

Social Science Quarterly, 2008, vol. 89, issue 2, 337-350

Abstract: Objective. Previous models of roll‐call voting have either ignored the role of legislator ideology or have employed questionable measures of it. A defensible measure of legislator ideology is needed. Methods. This study surveys former members of Congress (MCs) to obtain a new measure of legislator preferences. The measure has several attractive properties, appears to be valid, and is unique compared to a preference measure others have used. Results. Validating the measure in a model of roll‐call voting reveals that the importance of legislators' ideologies is similar to that of their party affiliations. Conclusions. A useful measure of legislators' ideologies can be generated using a postretirement instrument.

Date: 2008
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