Updated every Monday. Every rank cited. Both parties, same ruler.
Congress

The Most and Least Bipartisan U.S. Senators, Measured Two Ways

Current senators ranked by how often they cosponsor the other party's bills (GovTrack, full 118th Congress), anchored to the Lugar Center-McCourt School Bipartisan Index.

By Timothy E. Parker · July 6, 2026 · 13 min read · 25 ranked

66.7%
Share of Susan Collins's cosponsorships that went to Democratic bills, the highest in the Senate (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards)
9 of 11
Years the Lugar Center has named Collins the most bipartisan senator, the longest run in the Index (Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024)
84 places
Gap on the 2023 Lugar Index between Texas's John Cornyn (5th) and Ted Cruz (89th), the widest same-state split (Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024)
8 vs 7
Republicans versus Democrats in the top fifteen, evidence neither party owns cross-party work (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards)

How this ranking works

Two named instruments measure cross-party work here. The first is the Bipartisan Index published jointly by The Lugar Center and Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy. The latest available edition, cited precisely, is the single-year 2023 edition covering the first session of the 118th Congress, released in 2024. The Index measures how often a member introduces bills that attract cosponsors from the other party and how often the member cosponsors bills introduced across the aisle, benchmarked against 20 years of historical data. In that edition Susan Collins ranked first in the Senate, followed by Gary Peters, Maggie Hassan, and the now-retired Joe Manchin; John Cornyn ranked 5th, Ted Cruz 89th, and first-year senator Katie Britt scored lowest (Lugar Center and McCourt School, 2024).

The second instrument covers the complete 118th Congress (January 2023 to January 2025): GovTrack.us's Joining Bipartisan Bills statistic, the percentage of each senator's cosponsorships that went to bills introduced by the other party. Because it spans both sessions and is published for every senator, the numerical ranking below uses the GovTrack percentage, with each member's documented Lugar Index position noted where the Lugar Center published it. The two instruments agree at the top: Collins, Peters, and Hassan lead both.

The subscores on each card surface the same evidence a reader would use to check the rank. The primary meter is the GovTrack cross-party cosponsorship percentage that sets the order. A second meter shows the distance above or below the chamber median of 26.4 percent, so a card reads as leader or laggard at a glance. Where the Lugar Center published a precise Senate rank for a member, a third meter inverts it (101 minus the rank) so that a higher meter means a more bipartisan finish. No value is invented; where the Lugar rank is not published for a senator, that meter is omitted rather than guessed.

Only current senators, verified against the Senate roster in July 2026, are ranked. Senators who took office in 2025 or 2026, plus Adam Schiff and Andy Kim who joined in December 2024, have no full scored record and are excluded. Party, ideology, and the popularity of any bill are deliberately ignored. The measure counts documented cross-party legislative acts, nothing else.

1Susan CollinsRepublican, Maine66.7

66.7 percent of her cosponsorships went to Democratic bills, first in the Senate, and the Lugar Center ranked her the most bipartisan senator for 2023, her ninth time in eleven years atop the Index (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

Cross-party cosponsorship
66.7/70
Points above chamber median
40.3/45
Lugar Index (inverted rank)
100/100

The receipts: Collins recorded the highest cross-party cosponsorship share in the Senate at 66.7 percent and missed zero votes across the entire 118th Congress; the Lugar Center has now ranked her the most bipartisan senator nine times in eleven years, the longest such run in the Index's history (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Collins Senate office citing Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

2Lisa MurkowskiRepublican, Alaska61.2

61.2 percent of her cosponsorships crossed the aisle, second in the chamber (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Cross-party cosponsorship
61.2/70
Points above chamber median
34.8/45

The receipts: Murkowski placed 61.2 percent of her cosponsorships on Democratic bills, the second highest share in the Senate and more than double the chamber median, a pattern consistent with an Alaska seat her party cannot take for granted (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

3Gary PetersDemocrat, Michigan54.3

54.3 percent cross-party cosponsorship, and the Lugar Index placed him second among all senators for 2023; he is also the chamber's most effective lawmaker by CEL score (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

Cross-party cosponsorship
54.3/70
Points above chamber median
27.9/45
Lugar Index (inverted rank)
99/100

The receipts: Peters directed 54.3 percent of his cosponsorships to Republican bills and ranked second on the 2023 Lugar Index; the same bipartisan method produced the Senate's highest Legislative Effectiveness Score, 10.648, showing cross-party work and enacted output can rise together (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024; Center for Effective Lawmaking, 2025).

4Raphael WarnockDemocrat, Georgia53.1

53.1 percent of his cosponsorships went to Republican bills, the second highest of any Democrat (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Cross-party cosponsorship
53.1/70
Points above chamber median
26.7/45

The receipts: Warnock, who won Georgia by roughly two points, directed 53.1 percent of his cosponsorships to Republican bills, the second-highest Democratic figure in the chamber, a cross-party rate far above what a fortress strategy would require (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

5Maggie HassanDemocrat, New Hampshire51.3

51.3 percent cross-party cosponsorship; the Lugar Index ranked her third for 2023 after ranking her the most bipartisan senator in the previous Congress (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

Cross-party cosponsorship
51.3/70
Points above chamber median
24.9/45
Lugar Index (inverted rank)
98/100

The receipts: Hassan placed 51.3 percent of her cosponsorships on Republican bills and ranked third on the 2023 Lugar Index, one Congress after finishing first; she is the third name both instruments put in the top tier alongside Collins and Peters (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

6Jerry MoranRepublican, Kansas47.6

47.6 percent of his cosponsorships went to Democratic bills (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Cross-party cosponsorship
47.6/70
Points above chamber median
21.2/45

The receipts: Moran directed 47.6 percent of his cosponsorships to Democratic bills, a top-tier bipartisanship figure from a safe Kansas seat, showing electoral pressure explains the pattern without fully determining it (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

7Todd YoungRepublican, Indiana46.6

46.6 percent cross-party cosponsorship, consistent with his co-authorship of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act in the prior Congress (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Cross-party cosponsorship
46.6/70
Points above chamber median
20.2/45

The receipts: Young placed 46.6 percent of his cosponsorships on Democratic bills, a rate consistent with his role co-authoring the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act in the prior Congress (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

8Shelley Moore CapitoRepublican, West Virginia46.3

46.3 percent of her cosponsorships crossed the aisle (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Cross-party cosponsorship
46.3/70
Points above chamber median
19.9/45

The receipts: Capito directed 46.3 percent of her cosponsorships to Democratic bills, an eighth-place chamber figure that keeps three of the top eight seats with Republicans (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

9Chuck GrassleyRepublican, Iowa42.1

42.1 percent cross-party cosponsorship in his fifth decade of service (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Cross-party cosponsorship
42.1/70
Points above chamber median
15.7/45

The receipts: Grassley placed 42.1 percent of his cosponsorships on Democratic bills in his fifth decade in the Senate, from a safe Iowa seat, another safe-seat senator inside the top twelve (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

10Bill CassidyRepublican, Louisiana41.8

41.8 percent of his cosponsorships went to Democratic bills (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Cross-party cosponsorship
41.8/70
Points above chamber median
15.4/45

The receipts: Cassidy directed 41.8 percent of his cosponsorships to Democratic bills, a top-ten figure from a physician-legislator who has repeatedly worked across the aisle on health policy (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

11Thom TillisRepublican, North Carolina41.7

41.7 percent cross-party cosponsorship, though none of his own sponsored bills became law in the 118th Congress (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Cross-party cosponsorship
41.7/70
Points above chamber median
15.3/45

The receipts: Tillis placed 41.7 percent of his cosponsorships on Democratic bills, an eleventh-place bipartisanship figure, yet zero of his own sponsored bills became law, a direct demonstration that joining across the aisle does not guarantee enacted output (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

12John BoozmanRepublican, Arkansas40.2

40.2 percent of his cosponsorships crossed the aisle (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Cross-party cosponsorship
40.2/70
Points above chamber median
13.8/45

The receipts: Boozman directed 40.2 percent of his cosponsorships to Democratic bills from a safe Arkansas seat, the second safe-seat Republican in the top twelve (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

13Mark KellyDemocrat, Arizona40.1

40.1 percent of his cosponsorships went to Republican bills (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Cross-party cosponsorship
40.1/70
Points above chamber median
13.7/45

The receipts: Kelly placed 40.1 percent of his cosponsorships on Republican bills, the top figure among the Democrats representing genuinely contested states in the upper table (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

14John CornynRepublican, Texas39.1

39.1 percent cross-party cosponsorship; the Lugar Index ranked him 5th in the Senate for the second straight Congress, 84 places above his Texas colleague Ted Cruz (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

Cross-party cosponsorship
39.1/70
Points above chamber median
12.7/45
Lugar Index (inverted rank)
96/100

The receipts: Cornyn directed 39.1 percent of his cosponsorships to Democratic bills and ranked 5th on the 2023 Lugar Index, 84 places above his own Texas colleague Ted Cruz at 89th, the widest same-state split in the Senate (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

15Jacky RosenDemocrat, Nevada38.8

38.8 percent of her cosponsorships went to Republican bills (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Cross-party cosponsorship
38.8/70
Points above chamber median
12.4/45

The receipts: Rosen placed 38.8 percent of her cosponsorships on Republican bills from a contested Nevada seat, closing out a top fifteen that holds eight Republicans and seven Democrats (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

71Cory BookerDemocrat, New Jersey16.3

16.3 percent of his cosponsorships went to Republican bills (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

The receipts: Booker directed 16.3 percent of his cosponsorships to Republican bills, 10.1 points below the chamber median, from a New Jersey seat his party has held for decades (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

72Jeff MerkleyDemocrat, Oregon16.2

16.2 percent cross-party cosponsorship, a low bipartisanship mark from a senator who nonetheless ranks in the CEL top five Democrats for effectiveness (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Center for Effective Lawmaking, 2025).

The receipts: Merkley placed only 16.2 percent of his cosponsorships on Republican bills, yet CEL ranks him the fifth most effective Senate Democrat with five enacted laws, the clearest case on the page that bipartisanship and effectiveness are separate measurements (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Center for Effective Lawmaking, 2025).

73Mazie HironoDemocrat, Hawaii16.2

16.2 percent of her cosponsorships crossed the aisle (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

The receipts: Hirono directed 16.2 percent of her cosponsorships to Republican bills, 10.2 points below the chamber median, from a safe Hawaii seat (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

74Chuck SchumerDemocrat, New York15.8

15.8 percent cross-party cosponsorship; floor leaders traditionally sponsor and cosponsor little, which the raw number does not adjust for (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

The receipts: Schumer placed 15.8 percent of his cosponsorships on Republican bills, a figure that measures the majority leader's job description as much as his disposition, since floor leaders by custom sponsor and cosponsor few bills (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

75Patty MurrayDemocrat, Washington15.4

15.4 percent of her cosponsorships went to Republican bills while she chaired Appropriations (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

The receipts: Murray directed 15.4 percent of her cosponsorships to Republican bills while chairing the Appropriations Committee, a post that shapes cross-party negotiation in ways cosponsorship counts do not capture (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

76Elizabeth WarrenDemocrat, Massachusetts15.0

15.0 percent cross-party cosponsorship (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

The receipts: Warren placed 15.0 percent of her cosponsorships on Republican bills, 11.4 points below the chamber median, from a safe Massachusetts seat (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

77Ed MarkeyDemocrat, Massachusetts15.0

15.0 percent of his cosponsorships crossed the aisle (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

The receipts: Markey directed 15.0 percent of his cosponsorships to Republican bills, tying his Massachusetts colleague and sitting 11.4 points below the chamber median (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

78Mike LeeRepublican, Utah15.0

15.0 percent cross-party cosponsorship, the lowest figure of any current Republican senator with a full record (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

The receipts: Lee placed 15.0 percent of his cosponsorships on Democratic bills, the lowest cross-party figure of any current Republican with a full 118th Congress record, from a safe Utah seat (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

79Ron WydenDemocrat, Oregon14.4

14.4 percent of his cosponsorships went to Republican bills (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

The receipts: Wyden directed 14.4 percent of his cosponsorships to Republican bills, 12.0 points below the chamber median, while chairing the Finance Committee (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

80Eric SchmittRepublican, Missouri13.8

13.8 percent cross-party cosponsorship, the lowest of any ranked current senator; the 2023 Lugar Index placed him 97th of 100 (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

The receipts: Schmitt placed 13.8 percent of his cosponsorships on Democratic bills, the lowest figure of any ranked current senator, and the 2023 Lugar Index placed him 97th of 100, confirming both instruments agree at the bottom as well as the top (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

Click any entry to open its full scorecard, sub-scores, and the receipts.

Highest share of cosponsorships crossing party lines, 118th Congress

% of cosponsorships
Collins 66.7Murkowski 61.2Peters 54.3Warnock 53.1Hassan 51.3Moran 47.6Young 46.6Capito 46.3

Two rulers, one conclusion at the top

Bipartisanship gets asserted in speeches. It is also countable. The Lugar Center and Georgetown's McCourt School count it one way, scoring bill sponsorship and cosponsorship against two decades of benchmarks; GovTrack counts it another, as the plain percentage of a member's cosponsorships that go to the other party's bills. Both rulers put the same three names on top: Susan Collins, Gary Peters, and Maggie Hassan (Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024; GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards).

Collins's numbers are extreme by any standard. Two thirds of her cosponsorships in the 118th Congress, 66.7 percent, went to Democratic bills, and she missed zero votes across the entire Congress (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards). The Lugar Center has now ranked her the most bipartisan senator nine times in eleven years (Collins Senate office, citing Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

What the Bipartisan Index actually counts

The Lugar Center built its instrument to be hard to game. It scores only two behaviors, both recorded permanently in the Congressional Record: whether the bills a member introduces attract cosponsors from the other party, and whether the member puts their own name on bills introduced across the aisle. Press releases, floor speeches, and votes do not count, because the Center's founders judged sponsorship behavior the cleanest paper trail of actual cross-party work. Each member's score is benchmarked against twenty years of historical congressional data, so the Index measures a member against the institution's own norms rather than against a shifting news cycle (The Lugar Center, Bipartisan Index methodology).

The edition cited throughout this report is the single-year 2023 edition covering the first session of the 118th Congress, released jointly with Georgetown's McCourt School in 2024; it is the most recent edition available as of July 2026, and this page names it precisely because a ranking that cites an index without citing its edition cannot be checked (Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024). The GovTrack cosponsorship figure that orders the table below it is a different, simpler instrument: the raw percentage of each senator's cosponsorships that went to other-party bills across the full two-year Congress, computed as of February 13, 2025 (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards). Where a precise Lugar rank is documented for a senator, the blurb and card report it. Where it is not, this page does not invent one.

The Texas split

The same state can send both ends of the spectrum to Washington. The Lugar Center flagged Texas as the largest same-state split in the Senate: John Cornyn ranked 5th on the 2023 Bipartisan Index while Ted Cruz ranked 89th (Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024). GovTrack's full-Congress data shows the same shape: 39.1 percent of Cornyn's cosponsorships crossed the aisle against 18.3 percent for Cruz (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards). Party does not explain the difference. The two men share one.

The pattern repeats across the table. The top fifteen contains eight Republicans and seven Democrats. The bottom ten contains eight Democrats and two Republicans, but the 2023 Lugar edition's very lowest scorers included Republicans Katie Britt and Eric Schmitt. Neither party owns cross-party work, and neither party owns the refusal of it.

Reading a senator's bipartisanship card

Each card leads with the number that sets the rank: the GovTrack share of a senator's cosponsorships that went to the other party. The second meter translates that into distance from the chamber median of 26.4 percent, which is the honest way to read a percentage that has no natural zero point (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards). Collins sits 40.3 points above the median; Eric Schmitt sits 12.6 points below it. The third meter, present only where the Lugar Center published a precise Senate rank, inverts that rank so a fuller meter means a more bipartisan finish: Collins reads 100, Cornyn 96, Schmitt is shown by his GovTrack position because the Center reported him at 97th of 100 on a different scale (Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

The point of showing two instruments on one card is falsifiability. If the GovTrack percentage and the Lugar rank disagreed for a senator, the card would show it, and a reader could weigh the conflict. They mostly agree, which is why this page treats the top three, Collins, Peters, and Hassan, as settled rather than arguable (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

Bipartisanship is not the same as effectiveness

Jeff Merkley demonstrates that the two virtues measured on this site are different. He sits 72nd of 80 in cross-party cosponsorship at 16.2 percent, yet the Center for Effective Lawmaking ranks him the fifth most effective Senate Democrat with five laws enacted (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards; Center for Effective Lawmaking, 2025). The reverse case exists too: Thom Tillis cosponsored across the aisle 41.7 percent of the time and got zero sponsored bills enacted. Working with the other party correlates with lawmaking success in CEL's long-run research, but it does not guarantee it in any single Congress.

Floor leaders deserve one caveat, stated plainly: by custom, party leaders sponsor and cosponsor few bills, so Chuck Schumer's 74th-place figure measures a job description as much as a disposition. The number is real; its interpretation has limits.

The geography of crossing the aisle

The top of the table has a shape, and it is geographic as much as personal. Collins of Maine, Murkowski of Alaska, Hassan of New Hampshire, Peters of Michigan, Warnock of Georgia, Kelly of Arizona, and Rosen of Nevada all represent states their party cannot take for granted, and every one of them cosponsors across the aisle at rates far above the chamber median of 26.4 percent (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards). The bottom of the table is dominated by senators from states that have not been seriously contested in decades: Massachusetts, Oregon, Hawaii, Washington, New York, and Utah. The data cannot prove which way the causation runs, and this page does not claim it can. It records the correlation and lets the reader weigh it.

The correlation is not a law. Grassley's Iowa and Boozman's Arkansas are safe seats, and both men sit in the top twelve anyway. Warnock won Georgia by two points and could have chosen a fortress strategy; 53.1 percent of his cosponsorships went to Republican bills instead, the second-highest Democratic figure in the chamber (GovTrack, 2024 Report Cards). Electoral pressure explains the pattern; it does not excuse anyone from it.

What the freshman data warned about

The Lugar Center noted that the eight first-year senators of 2023 dragged down the chamber's overall score, with Katie Britt of Alabama scoring lowest in the Senate and every freshman landing 72nd or worse (Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024). The 14 senators who arrived in 2025 and 2026 are not yet scored, so this report does not rank them. Whether the newest class repeats that pattern is an empirical question the next Index edition will answer, and this page will be updated when it does.

Bottom ten current senators vs the chamber median (26.4%)

points vs median
Schmitt -12.6Wyden -12Lee -11.4Markey -11.4Warren -11.4Murray -11Schumer -10.6Hirono -10.2Merkley -10.2Booker -10.1

How the top of the Index has moved

The leaders of this ranking are stable across editions, which is itself a finding. The Lugar Center has now named Susan Collins the most bipartisan senator nine times in eleven years, a run no other member approaches (Collins Senate office citing Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024). Maggie Hassan led the Senate in the prior Congress and finished third for 2023, and Gary Peters has been a fixture in the top tier of both the Lugar Index and CEL's effectiveness tables across multiple Congresses (Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024). When the same names hold the top across editions, the measurement is capturing durable behavior rather than a single-cycle mood.

What has moved is the composition of the exit. Joe Manchin, who sat fourth on the 2023 Senate Index, has since retired, and his departure removed one of the chamber's most reliably cross-party Democrats (Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024; U.S. Senate roster, July 2026). The 2024 election class and the appointees who arrived in 2025 and 2026, including Oklahoma's Alan Armstrong after Markwayne Mullin resigned to lead Homeland Security in March 2026, are not yet scored (Washington Post, March 24, 2026). The Lugar Center warned that the eight first-year senators of 2023 dragged the chamber's overall score down, with Katie Britt scoring lowest in the Senate (Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024). Whether the newest class repeats that freshman pattern is an empirical question the next Index edition will answer.

The latest full Lugar Index edition covers 2023, so a senator whose behavior shifted in 2024 or 2025 is measured by an older snapshot until the next release; this page names the edition precisely and will update when the Center publishes a newer one (Lugar Center-McCourt School, 2024).

The Texas split: cross-party cosponsorship vs chamber median

points vs median
Cornyn 12.7Cruz -8.1

What the evidence settles

The evidence settles that cross-party legislating is measurable, that Susan Collins leads the Senate on both major instruments, and that the gap within parties exceeds the gap between them: Texas alone spans 84 places on the Lugar Index. Claims that either party has a monopoly on bipartisanship fail on the published numbers.

What remains contested

What remains contested is what the numbers mean. Cosponsorship is cheap relative to voting or negotiating, so a high percentage can reflect symbolic joining rather than substantive compromise. Leaders and committee chairs cosponsor little by custom, which depresses their scores for structural reasons. And the latest full Lugar Index edition covers 2023, so senators whose behavior changed in 2024 or 2025 may be measured by an older snapshot until the next release.

Questions people ask

Who is the most bipartisan senator?

Susan Collins of Maine, by both major measures. The Lugar Center-McCourt School Bipartisan Index ranked her first for 2023, her ninth top finish in eleven years, and GovTrack recorded 66.7 percent of her 118th Congress cosponsorships going to Democratic bills, the highest in the Senate.

What is the Lugar Bipartisan Index?

A measure created by former Sen. Richard Lugar's center with Georgetown's McCourt School. It scores how often a member's bills attract cosponsors from the other party and how often the member cosponsors across the aisle, benchmarked against 20 years of congressional data. The latest available edition covers 2023, the first session of the 118th Congress.

Which senators are the least bipartisan?

Among current senators with a full 118th Congress record, Eric Schmitt (13.8 percent cross-party cosponsorship) and Ron Wyden (14.4 percent) rank lowest on GovTrack's measure. On the 2023 Lugar Index, Katie Britt scored lowest in the Senate and Schmitt ranked 97th of 100.

Does bipartisanship make a senator more effective?

On average, yes. The Center for Effective Lawmaking's research finds bipartisan coalition builders enact more of their agenda even in the majority party. But individual exceptions run both directions, as Jeff Merkley (low bipartisanship, high effectiveness) and Thom Tillis (high bipartisanship, zero enacted bills) show in the 118th Congress data.

Which state has the widest bipartisanship gap?

Texas. On the 2023 Lugar Index, John Cornyn ranked 5th in the Senate while Ted Cruz ranked 89th, an 84-place split between two senators of the same party representing the same state. GovTrack shows the same shape at 39.1 percent cross-party for Cornyn against 18.3 percent for Cruz.

Sources

  1. The Lugar Center, The Bipartisan Index (methodology and editions) https://www.thelugarcenter.org/ourwork-Bipartisan-Index.html
  2. Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, The Lugar Center and McCourt School release latest Bipartisan Index rankings for Congress (2023 edition, 118th Congress), 2024 https://mccourt.georgetown.edu/news/bipartisan-index-2023-118th-congress/
  3. GovTrack.us, 2024 Report Cards, All Senators, Joining Bipartisan Bills (118th Congress) https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/report-cards/2024/senate/cosponsored-other-party
  4. Office of Sen. Susan Collins, For the 9th Time in 11 Years, Senator Collins Ranked Most Bipartisan U.S. Senator, 2024 https://www.collins.senate.gov/newsroom/for-the-9th-time-in-11-years-senator-collins-ranked-most-bipartisan-us-senator
  5. Maryland Matters, New list rates the most bipartisan members of Congress, and the least, May 28, 2024 https://marylandmatters.org/2024/05/28/new-list-rates-the-most-bipartisan-members-of-congress-and-the-least/
  6. GovTrack.us, 2024 Report Cards, All Senators, Missed Votes (Collins zero missed votes) https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/report-cards/2024/senate/missed-votes
  7. Center for Effective Lawmaking, Highlights from the New 118th Congress Legislative Effectiveness Scores, March 2025 https://thelawmakers.org/legislative-effectiveness-scores/highlights-from-the-new-118th-congress-legislative-effectiveness-scores
  8. Washington Post, Oklahoma executive Alan Armstrong to temporarily fill Mullin's Senate seat, March 24, 2026 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/24/mullins-senate-replacement-armstrong/
  9. U.S. Senate, official roster of current senators (membership verified July 2026) https://www.senate.gov/senators/
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