Florida’s most & least effective congressional representatives in 2019
Bottom Line: The Center for Effective Lawmaking keeps an annual database of the most and least effective congressional representatives ranking them within their own party. Here’s the methodology they use:
To calculate the Legislative Effectiveness Score for each member of the U.S. House and Senate, we draw on fifteen indicators that collectively capture the proven ability of a legislator to advance her agenda items through the legislative process and into law.
With that in mind here’s where key, and still serving, Floridians rank in overall effectiveness during the previous congress that ended in January:
US Senate: Marco Rubio – 10th most effective Republican (only 18% more effective)
As for South Florida Representatives...
Brian Mast (FL’s 18th): Ranked 92nd out of 244 Republicans
Alcee Hastings (FL’s 20th): Ranked 146th out of 204 Democrats
Ted Deutch (FL’s 21st): Ranked 138th out of 204 Democrats
Lois Frankel (FL’s 22nd): Ranked 120th out of 204 Democrats
Debbie-Wasserman Shultz (FL’s 23rd): Ranked 167th out of 204 Democrats
Frederica-Wilson (FL’s 24th): Ranked 168 out of 204 Democrats
Mario-Diaz Balart (FL’s 25th): Ranked 210th out of 244 Republicans
Ironically the retired Ros-Lehtinen was the most effective South Florida representative of the past congress and Carlos Curbelo who narrowly lost his re-election bid was above average in overall effectiveness. Of current South Florida representatives, only Brian Mast has been better than average in achieving legislative success with his agenda. What’s maybe the most interesting is that no South Florida Democrat is even close to being effective among Democrats nationally, and it’s a real tell about how DWS’s influence within Democratic ranks has plummeted since her days heading the DNC. She was only more effective than 18% of Democrats in the previous Congress. Yikes. It’s clear that aside from Mast, South Florida’s interests haven’t received generally good representation nationally. I’ll keep an eye on this heading into the 2020 cycle.