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CIVIC HERALD
James E. Risch

3rd term · 17.7 years in office: 2 full terms completed, 1 in progress.

Senator · ID · Republican · since Jan 2009

James E. Risch

Bills authored 29Missed votes 7 of 214Party unity 72% derived, how we compute this

Counted from 214 roll calls and 175 sponsorship records on file.

Provisionalunreviewed: stated positions
Stray indexpending review

Who they are · every sentence carries its source

Before the votes, a life.

James E. Risch was born in 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and moved to Idaho in the early 1960s.Source 3: Wikipedia: Jim Risch He earned a bachelor's degree in forestry in 1965 and a law degree in 1968 from the University of Idaho.Source 3: Wikipedia: Jim Risch Before entering politics, he taught criminal justice classes at Boise State College and worked as a trial lawyer.Source 3: Wikipedia: Jim Risch

Risch began his political career as the Ada County prosecuting attorney in 1970 and later served in the Idaho Senate, as lieutenant governor, and briefly as the state's governor.Source 3: Wikipedia: Jim Risch He was first elected to the United States Senate in 2008 and won reelection in 2014 and 2020.Source 3: Wikipedia: Jim Risch

In their own words

“Along with many provisions in this final bill, I have worked to secure language that will target Russia's illicit shadow fleet ships that are used to prop up its energy sector and fund its war against Ukraine.”

Congressional Record · Jul 28, 2026 · Source

One rule for every member: their most recent dated, linkable statement about themselves.

The path here

  1. 1968

    Earned a law degree from the University of Idaho.Source 3: Wikipedia: Jim Risch

  2. 1970

    Elected as the Ada County prosecuting attorney.Source 3: Wikipedia: Jim Risch

  3. 1974-2002

    Served in the Idaho Senate from 1974 to 1988, and again from 1995 to 2002.Source 3: Wikipedia: Jim Risch

  4. 2003-2009

    Served as lieutenant governor of Idaho, including a seven-month period as governor in 2006 and 2007.Source 3: Wikipedia: Jim Risch

  5. 2009-Present

    Serves as a United States senator from Idaho.Source 1: James E. Risch — Biographical Directory of the United States CongressSource 3: Wikipedia: Jim Risch

Next election: Nov 3, 2026general · in 51 days

96.73% attendance · all roll calls we have ingested

2 sources

  1. 1James E. Risch — Biographical Directory of the United States Congressbioguideopen source
  2. 3Wikipedia: Jim Rischwikipediaopen source archived copy
Full record card

The record card · sourced from Bioguide, the Clerk and the FEC

17.7YRS

In office · 3rd term · since Jan 2009

We hold certified results for U.S. House seats only.

96.73%

Attendance

senate median 98.13% (100 members)

NOV'26

Next election · general

in 51 days

Figures cover all roll calls we have ingested.

Before Congress

  1. 1968 Earned a law degree from the University of Idaho.
  2. 1970 Elected as the Ada County prosecuting attorney.
  3. 1974-2002 Served in the Idaho Senate from 1974 to 1988, and again from 1995 to 2002.
  4. 2003-2009 Served as lieutenant governor of Idaho, including a seven-month period as governor in 2006 and 2007.
  5. 2009-Present Serves as a United States senator from Idaho.
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations chairSenate Committee on Energy and Natural ResourcesSenate Committee on Small Business and EntrepreneurshipSenate Select Committee on EthicsSenate Select Committee on IntelligenceUnited States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics ControlSenate Committee on Foreign Relations · Africa and Global Health Policy subcommittee ex officioSenate Committee on Foreign Relations · East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy subcommittee ex officioSenate Committee on Foreign Relations · Europe and Regional Security Cooperation subcommittee ex officioSenate Committee on Foreign Relations · Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions, and International Economic, Energy, and Environmental Policy subcommittee ex officioSenate Committee on Foreign Relations · Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism subcommittee ex officioSenate Committee on Foreign Relations · State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development subcommittee ex officioSenate Committee on Foreign Relations · Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues subcommittee ex officioSenate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Energy subcommitteeSenate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Public Lands, Forests, and Mining subcommitteeSenate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Water and Power subcommittee29 bills authored · 0 enacted

Says vs. does · 72 issues in 6 clusters

Stated position vs. voting record.

The dashed shape is what they campaigned on. The solid shape is how they voted. Where the shapes separate, the record differs from the platform. The distance is measured. What it means is up to you.

SaysDoes
  • Economy & taxes: not yet stated; voted 50 of 100 toward FISCAL RESTRAINT.
  • Safety & enforcement: not yet stated; voted 51 of 100 toward STRICTER ENFORCEMENT.
  • Immigration: not yet stated; voted 76 of 100 toward TIGHTER LIMITS.
  • Rights & liberty: not yet stated; voted 55 of 100 toward INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY.
  • Environment & energy: not yet stated; voted 37 of 100 toward CONSERVE & PROTECT.
  • Governance & oversight: not yet stated; voted 31 of 100 toward DISCLOSURE & AUDIT.
Rim = strongest position on each cluster’s named pole · Same scale for every member · How we score ▸

pending review

The stats, cluster by cluster

6 clusters · 72 issues · sorted by gap size

Each rail runs between two positions real bills take. ○ marks what they campaigned on; ▪ marks how they voted. Select a cluster to open its issues.

GapSorted by gap size · How we score ▸

Receipts · recent votes on passage

How they voted.

Money & ties

Who's behind them.

How complete is this money picture?

46%of the money categories we track are publicly disclosed for this member, counting those that lawfully lag.

  • Campaign financeThrough Jun 30, 2026Current · 34%
  • Corporate-PAC shareNot yet derived · 22%
  • Disclosed tradesLagged · 12%
  • Lobbyist meetingsNot disclosed · 32%

Disclosed by the FEC; we have not built the honest derivation — same for every member.

Members must disclose trades within 45 days; this picture is always at least that far behind.

A gap in the disclosure system, not a statement about this member — lobbyist meetings are not federally disclosed for any member of Congress.

Weights are fixed product-wide and disclosed, so this percentage is comparable across members.

Who funds them · 2026 cycle · FEC through Jun 30, 2026

$3.4MTotal raised · 1 ▪ = $100.0K · 34 units, rounded up

  • PAC contributions$897.3K · 26.7%
  • Itemized individual$1.9M · 58.0%
  • Small-dollar (≤$200)$139.9K · 4.2%
  • All other$372.8K · 11.1%
FEC filing totals ↗

Disclosed trades

We hold no disclosed-trade filings for this member. That is a gap in what we have loaded; it does not mean none were filed.

FEC OpenFEC · disclosed trades: House Clerk / Senate filings.

Ideology placement

Economic (dim 1)0.551
Social (dim 2)0.383

Voteview DW-NOMINATE · retrieved Sep 7, 2026 — an external attributed reference, shown as context.

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