Tom CottonVote leaningMore conservative
+0.577Based on 894 roll-call observations in the 119th Congress. This is Voteview DW-NOMINATE, an estimate from roll-call behavior—not a Baseline rating. Read the method ↗ or see our evidence rules.
Senator · Arkansas · Republican
Tom Cotton
U.S. Senator from Arkansas
Tom Cotton is a U.S. senator from Arkansas, a Republican in office since January 3, 2015. He served one term in the House from 2013 to 2015, chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and is the Senate Republican Conference chair.
Background
Biography
Tom Cotton was born in Dardanelle, Arkansas, on May 13, 1977. He graduated from Harvard University in 1998, attended Claremont Graduate University in 1998 and 1999, and earned a law degree from Harvard in 2002. He clerked for a U.S. Court of Appeals in 2002 and 2003 and served in the U.S. Army from 2004 to 2009. The House historian's biography also lists work as a lawyer in private practice, a management consultant and a farmer.
He was elected to the U.S. House as a Republican and served one term, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015. He did not seek reelection to the House and was elected to the Senate in 2014, taking his seat on January 3, 2015. He was reelected in 2020 for a term ending January 3, 2027.
Cotton has chaired the Senate Republican Conference since 2025 and chairs the Select Committee on Intelligence in the 119th Congress. He also sits on the Armed Services and Energy and Natural Resources committees and the Joint Economic Committee.
119th Congress
The voting record at a glance
Every Senate roll-call position in the current Congress that Voteview associates with this member. Data current through Oct 1, 2026.
- Recorded votes
- 915
- Participation
- 98.5%
- Yea / nay
- 666 / 235
- Latest vote
- Sep 30, 2026
Recorded positions
Latest roll-call votes
Position, question, result, tally, and source are shown together so readers can inspect the record without leaving the page.
| Date | Position | Roll call | Issue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yea | PN1129On the NominationKeith Sonderling, of Florida, to be Secretary of LaborOfficial roll call ↗ | Nominations | Nomination Confirmed47–41 | |
| Yea | PN1129On the Cloture MotionKeith Sonderling, of Florida, to be Secretary of LaborOfficial roll call ↗ | Other floor business | Cloture Motion Agreed to53–47 | |
| Yea | HR9340On Cloture on the Motion to ProceedA bill to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish a Federal standard relating to the recovery of the full, incremental costs of upgrades that serve large-load customers, and for other purposes.Official roll call ↗ | Other floor business | Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected57–43 | |
| Yea | HR7008On Cloture on the Motion to ProceedA bill to amend chapter 131 of title 5 to require certain restrictions on stocks for Members of Congress and their spouses and dependents, and for other purposes.Official roll call ↗ | Other floor business | Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected53–47 | |
| Nay | SRES852On the Motion to DischargeA resolution requesting information on Israel's human rights practices pursuant to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.Bill record ↗Official roll call ↗ | International Affairs | Motion to Discharge Rejected47–51 | |
| Nay | SJRES197On the Motion to ProceedA joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services relating to "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2027; and Basic Health Program".Bill record ↗Official roll call ↗ | Health | Motion to Proceed Rejected48–51 | |
| Yea | S4668On Passage of the BillA bill to protect the name, image, and likeness rights of, and provide protections for, student athletes and to promote fair competition among intercollegiate athletics, and for other purposes.Official roll call ↗ | Education | Bill Passed77–22 | |
| Nay | S4668On the AmendmentTo establish certain standards with respect to coaches of varsity sports teams.Official roll call ↗ | Other floor business | Amendment Rejected47–52 | |
| Nay | S4668On the AmendmentTo increase the limitation on funding for post-eligibility insurance and catastrophic injury for student athletes.Official roll call ↗ | Health | Amendment Rejected49–50 | |
| Nay | S4668On the AmendmentTo limit price increases for college athletics tickets.Official roll call ↗ | Other floor business | Amendment Rejected42–54 | |
| Nay | S4668On the AmendmentTo improve the bill.Official roll call ↗ | Other floor business | Amendment Rejected1–94 | |
| Yea | S4668On the AmendmentTo modify the provision relating to the relationship of this Act to existing law.Official roll call ↗ | Other floor business | Amendment Agreed to96–1 |
Patterns in the record
Vote leaning and issue mix
These are descriptive measures of roll-call behavior, not judgments about truthfulness, effectiveness, or constituent approval.
Where roll calls fall
Policy areas come from Voteview’s Congressional Research Service fields, with plain-language fallback categories when no CRS label is supplied.
Source: Voteview members’ votes ↗. Lewis, Poole, Rosenthal, Boche, Rudkin, and Sonnet (2026), Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database.
The Baseline desk
Published claim checks
Claim checks are reviewed editorial work. They are separate from the voting-data summaries above.
No published checks yet
When The Baseline verifies and publishes a check on a claim by Tom Cotton, it will appear here with its evidence and primary sources. An empty record is not a rating.
Recent coverage
What is being reported
Current reporting about Tom Cotton, gathered through Brave Search. Headlines and summaries belong to their publishers and are not Baseline verdicts.
Cotton's opponent: 'Not once' has daylight savings come up on campaign trail
Read the original report ↗Keep exploring
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