Center for Effective Lawmaking measures bill sponsorships, substantiveness
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) is the most effective House member from New Jersey, at least according to the Center for Effective Lawmaking, an organization that measures effectiveness in the U.S. House and Senate.
The Center – which is affiliated with the University of Virginia, Vanderbilt University, and two democracy-focused groups – accounts for a number of different indicators in its methodology: how many bills a lawmaker sponsored, how many of those bills advanced or became law, and how substantive those bills are, among other things.
By those metrics, Sherrill emerges as New Jersey’s most effective House member during the 2021-2022 session, and the 18th-most effective House Democrat overall.
“NJ-11 residents sent Representative Sherrill to Washington to get things done, and her number one priority is to better our community and improve the lives of those she serves,” a Sherrill spokesperson said in a statement. “From funding the Gateway Tunnel, fighting for veteran mental health care, or shoring up our supply chains, Congresswoman Sherrill will remain focused on the things that matter – helping New Jersey families.”
Also ranking highly from the New Jersey delegation was Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester). Though Smith’s effectiveness score was much lower than Sherrill’s, that’s to be expected given that he was in the minority party at the time, and he ranked as the 21st-most effective House Republican.
And in the Center’s separate Senate rankings, Senator Bob Mendendez was rated as the fifth-most effective Democratic senator, while Senator Cory Booker was 29th.