Collin Peterson Tops 'Most Bipartisan' in House

Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., tops the Lugar Bipartisan Index, which grades members of Congress on how well they work with each other, while Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., came in last place.

Republicans and Democrats placed evenly in the top 10 spots in the rankings:

1. Rep Collin Peterson, D-Minn.;
2. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.;
3. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.;
4. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla.;
5. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas;
6. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.;
7. Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y.;
8. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J.;
9. Rep. Ryan Costello, R-Pa.;
10. Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y.

According to The Lugar Center, a think tank founded by former Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy, the index was created to "fill a hole" in the information that is usually made public about congressional members' actions.

Rather than concentrate on studies based on partisan or special-interest standards, the Index concentrates on bill sponsorships and co-sponsorships, as they allow the organization to determine a "highly objective measure" of lawmakers' partisan and bipartisan behavior.

The index measures how often a member of Congress co-sponsors a bill introduced by the opposite party, and how often that member's bills attract co-sponsors from the other side of the aisle, with lawmakers scoring above zero determined to post a good score.

As a result, Peterson netted a score of 2.09, while Brooks' rating came in at a negative 1.81.

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