Mark P. Jones, chair of the political science department at Rice University, analyzed the votes taken by the Legislature when Gov. Rick Perry was a House member (1985-91) to determine how the governor ranked among his colleagues, from most liberal to most conservative. The names and rankings appear below, with Democrats in blue and Republicans in red, and Perry in yellow. He appears as a Democrat (his first five years in the House, and as a Republican (his last year). Hover over a bar in the chart to see what ranking Jones gives the lawmaker based on his or her voting profile.

Jones' explanation of his methodology and of the rankings can be found here.