Givhan, Melson, Orr rated most conservative among state senators

WASHINGTON —  A trio of North Alabama lawmakers are rated among the most conservative lawmakers in the nation, according to new ratings from the Conservative Political Action Conference.

“In 1971, ACUF launched its Ratings of Congress to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the voting records of every member of Congress,” the group said. “The ratings quickly became considered the ‘gold standard’ and over the following decades have been utilized by activists, voters, academics and elected officials to determine which lawmakers best adhere to conservative principles.”

State Sens. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville), Tim Melson (R-Florence) and Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) were rated the most conservative legislators in the higher chamber with a CPAC score of 89%. For Givhan, it represented a 16% increase in his score from 2022 while Melson saw an increase of 8%.

Last year, Givhan and Melson voted conservative on every piece of legislation introduced with the exception of Senate Bill 175, which would have established a grant program to reimburse the cost of tuition for individuals 25 years or older.

“The CPAC Foundation’s Center for Legislative Accountability is proud to present our Ratings of the States,” said Chairman Matt Schlapp. “Like our Ratings of Congress, CPAC’s Foundations Ratings of the states are meant to reflect how elected officials view the role of government in an individual’s life.

“We begin with our philosophy (conservatism is the political philosophy that sovereignty resides in the person) and then apply the proper role of government (its essential role is to defend Life, Liberty, and Property).”

Schlapp said that while progress has been made for conservative causes in Alabama, there is still room to grow.

“Alabama’s promotion of school choice and protection of women’s sports this past session should be celebrated,” Schlapp said. “However, the Legislature’s relatively limited success in other areas suggests that Republican legislators and Gov. Kay Ivey should do more to live up to their potential.”

The full CPAC ranking and Alabama report is available here.