Unlike the contest for the most conservative member of the House of Representatives in 2012, the rankings for most liberal legislator show no clear winner. Fourteen Democrats are tied for the title.
Many of the names topping this year's list are holdovers from last year when there was a 19-way tie. The most liberal representatives for two years running are Reps. William Lacy Clay of Missouri, Donna Edwards of Maryland, John Olver of Massachusetts, and four from California--Mike Honda, Barbara Lee, Pete Stark, and Lynn Woolsey.
Olver has the distinction of being the most liberal representative for five years running. Not known to many outside of his Western Massachusetts district, Olver helped organize the House's bipartisan Climate Change Caucus, and once cosponsored a measure to bring impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. (He later voted against such a resolution.) Although he usually shied away from media attention, in 2006 he was arrested for protesting the violence in Darfur at the Sudanese Embassy in Washington. Olver retired from Congress this year, not seeking reelection.
See the complete list of the most liberal representatives of 2012 below. Learn how the vote rankings are calculated here. A full breakdown of all House members' vote ratings will be made available on Thursday.
Graphic by Peter Bell; text by Brian Resnick
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