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Common Ground Scorecard for Jim Risch

U.S. Senate

Jim Risch (ID - R)

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A wealthy trial lawyer and cattle rancher, Sen. Jim Risch from Idaho favors cutting taxes and shrinking the federal government’s role on the home front. He believes the top three foreign policy priorities for the U.S. should be “China, China, and China.” While he wasn’t a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, he split with the Trump administration on some foreign policy issues. Risch entered public office at the age of 27, in an effort to keep his job: His boss, the Ada County prosecuting attorney, was retiring, so he ran for and won the seat.

(Bloomberg Government biography of Jim Risch)

Learn what Jim Risch says about finding common ground

Up for Reelection in 2026

Top Organizations and Groups

  • Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (Ranking Member)
  • Senate Select Committee on Ethics
  • Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
  • Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
  • Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Common Ground Score is

26
Average

Based on a scale of 0-100, below is a breakdown of the Common Ground Score:

Official PerformanceMAX 30
6
Personal ActionsMAX 30
0
CommunicationsMAX 20
20
CommitmentsMAX 20
0
BONUS: Outstanding Common GrounderMAX 10
0

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Common Ground Score History for Jim Risch

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Official Performance Commentary

Official Performance score increased 5 points based on 2023 performance. Top 75% for Official Performance.

Personal Actions Commentary

There is no information available to support this score.

Communications Commentary

"Certainly there are things we're going to have philosophical differences on. But, you know, when you sit down at the table, whether you're a conservative, a liberal, Republican, Democrat, what you find after a discussion -- an open-minded discussion -- is you usually have a whole lot more in common than you do at the other end, at the outer ends of the spectrum. So what we need to do is to sit down at that table, find the common ground, and get to work, and make those things work."

Commitments Commentary

The politician has not affirmed the commitments.

Outstanding Commmon Grounder Commentary

There is no information available to support this score.

What are the score ranges?

  • Champion
  • Well Above Average
  • Somewhat Above Average
  • Average
  • Somewhat Below Average
  • Well Below Average

Insufficient Data to Score

For candidates without congressional or gubernatorial service, Official Performance points are a predictive estimate using statistical modeling.

Personal Actions points can be provisionally awarded for a commitment to take the action(s) within the first six months of office, if elected.

Maverick Matrix for Jim Risch

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