Crowdpac, a nonpartisan political data analysis technology firm, created a scale that lists the “political ideology score” of every city with a population exceeding 6,000 in the U.S. That figure is based on the amount of dollars that went to political candidates on both sides of the spectrum. But instead of simply labeling politicians as “liberal” or “conservative,” Crowdpac added a bit more nuance by rating the candidates along a spectrum that takes into account their big donor sources; the statements (verbal, via social media, etc.) they’ve publicly made; and their voting records. There result is that there are a few—though not many—surprises, because even candidates you might assume fit neatly into one camp or another aren’t always straight-ticket ideologues. The candidate scale goes from 10L for the most liberal to 10C for the most conservative.
