Either vice president Kamala Harris or Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) will be elevated to the highest position of their careers by the end of 2024 choice season. Their voting records in the Senate provide telling insights into their ideological leanings and agendas.

Harris, who represented California in the Senate from 2017 to 2021, has faced criticism from former President Donald Trump and others for being “the most liberal” member of the Senate. Vance, on the other hand, has only been on the job since 2023, but his limited record shows he’s been more willing to vote across party lines than Harris was.

In 2019, nonpartisan congressional tracker YouGov ranked Harris as the most liberal senator. She was also the sixth least likely senator to vote across party lines in 2019, according to The Lugar Center’s McCourt School Bipartisan Indexand the 11th least likely in 2017. Vance, by comparison, was the 22nd least likely in 2023.

On the Lugar Center’s index, a lower score indicates a lower willingness to vote across party lines. Harris scored -0.92670 in 2019 and -1.19719 in 2017. While Vance did not score highly on the rankings, his -0.79354 score from 2023 indicates he is more willing to cross party lines to pass legislation.

Is Vance as conservative as Harris is liberal?

Aside from YouGov’s now-deleted 2019 report card that ranked Harris the most liberal senator, the tracker rated her the second-most liberal senator on its 2020 report card and the fourth most liberal on 2018 edition. YouGov doesn’t have data on Vance yet.

Voteview, based at the University of California, Los Angeles, too rating senators based on how ideologically extreme they are. Harris was the second most liberal senator behind Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in Voteview’s ratings in both 2017 and 2019.

Vance ranked as the fifth most conservative member in 2023, while Warren and Harris ranked as the most liberal by notable margins in 2017 and 2019. Sens. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) all came in as more conservative than Vance.

Harris received criticism rating from conservative rating organizations based on her Senate voting record, including 0% from the Campaign for Working Families, another 0% from Heritage Action for America, 9% from the American Conservative Union, 10% from Eagle Forum and 20% from Conservative Review.

Left-leaning graders were much more favorable to Harris, including Americans for Democratic Action, which gave her a 90% rating, and Progressive Punch, which gave her an 86% rating.

Vance received a 6% score from liberal Progressive Punch but was rated 93% by right-leaning Heritage Action for America and 100% by Eagle Forum.

To reach across the aisle

Both Harris and Vance have voted alongside members of the opposing party to pass legislation, though their scores on The Lugar Center’s McCourt School Bipartisan Index suggest Vance is more willing to reach across the aisle.

Vance, for example, worked with Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) to introduce The Railway Safety Act 2023 after the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment.

Harris voted in favour The First Step Act of 2018 was introduced by former Republican representative Doug Collins and signed by Trump. No Democratic senators voted against the bill, but 12 Republicans did.

There have also been many bills, motions, and nominations that passed with bipartisan support and little or no opposition that the pair voted with members of the opposing party to approve.

What can Harris and Vance do with enhanced power?

Despite no longer serving as a senator, Harris has cast 33 votes in the Senate since becoming vice president, who casts the tie-breaking vote when there is deadlock in the upper chamber of Congress. That role will belong to Vance if Trump wins in November.

There is no guarantee that Vance would even have to cast a single vote if elected, as 12 vice presidents, including President Joe Biden, did not get a chance to break a Senate tie. Harris’ 33 votes rank as the most of any vice president, and she has done so in far less time than any of her predecessors who have come close.

Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate, so the only time Harris has a vote is when they can’t get a unanimous vote within the party. There are 33 seats up for election in 2024, 10 held by Republicans and 23 held by Democrats. If a party ends up with a plurality, the next vice president may not cast many votes.

According to Cook Political Reportis every GOP seat up for grabs in a state that leans Republican. Four seats held by Democrats are rated toss-ups and one is rated “solid Republican.” The Hill’s 2024 election forecast gives the GOP a 78% chance of taking control of the Senate, predicting a 51-47 majority with two independents facing the Democrats.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

If Harris wins in November, she would have the power to sign or veto bills that make it through Congress. She would also be able to issue executive orders to carry out certain policies without being voted in by Congress.

The Washington Examiner reached out to Harris and Vance for comment.