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Senator D. Gregg Buxton
Utah legislator profile

Years served in the Utah legislature

First session in legislature: 2003
Most recent year of service for which data are available: 2024
Total sessions served in Utah House as of 2024: 5
Total sessions served in Utah Senate as of 2024: 8

How to read the statistical profile

I present a variety of statistics about Sen. D. Gregg Buxton's service in the Utah legislature. I highlight differences from chamber averages using little green and red arrows. The number of arrows is statistically determined. More arrows indicate a larger difference compared to the chamber average, in relation to how much diversity there is among legislators on this metric. If all legislators introduce exactly 5 bills, then a legislator who introduces 10 is very different; if legislators vary wildly in how many bills they introduce (but the average is still 5), then a legislator who introduces 10 bills may be less different from average. The standard deviation measures this diversity.

Sen. Buxton's statistical profile

200720172018201920202021202220232024
Service summary. Service prior to 2007 (if any) is not shown here. My database goes back only to 2007.
  Chamber HouseSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenate
  District H12S20S20S20S20S20S20S4S4
  Party RRRRRRRRR
Leadership NoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNone
Years in chamber 512345678
Years comparison ==LowerLowerLowerLower========
 
200720172018201920202021202220232024
Bills sponsored (learn more) Bills written and promoted by the legislator in his/her own chamber.
Introduced by Buxton 343425212
Chamber average 6.1119.6109.79.49.61110
Difference -3.1-6.6-6.6-6.2-7.7-4.4-7.6-10.1-8.3
Comparison LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower
 
200720172018201920202021202220232024
Bill passage rate (learn more). What percent of Sen. Buxton's sponsored bills pass and are officially "enrolled"? (I ignore whether the governor signed or vetoted the bill.)
Bills introduced 343425212
Bills passed 342425212
Passage rate 100%100%67%100%100%100%100%100%100%
Chamber average 51%74%83%78%70%71%71%72%72%
Difference +49+26-16.3+22+30+29+29+28+28
Comparison HigherHigherHigherHigherLowerHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigher
 
200720172018201920202021202220232024
Bills floor sponsored. A "floor sponsor" is like a secondary sponsor of a bill. After a bill passes the sponsor's chamber, its sponsor needs to find a "floor sponsor" in the other chamber to usher it through the other chamber.
Total floor sponsored 211109107685
Chamber average 3.11314141312131516
Difference -1.1-2.4-4.2-4.6-3.3-5.4-7.4-7.2-11.5
Comparison ====LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower
 
200720172018201920202021202220232024
Missed votes (learn more). Usually missed votes occur because of competing obligations within the legislature, not because the legislator has left the capitol.
Missed votes 452550467219445460
Total votes held 6029139269759109199311,0581,069
Absentee rate 7.5%2.7%5.4%4.7%7.9%2.1%4.7%5.1%5.6%
Chamber average 8.3%10%13%11%11%8.0%12%13%13%
Difference -0.8-7.7-7.7-6.5-3.6-5.9-7.5-8.0-7.2
Comparison ==LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower
 
200720172018201920202021202220232024
"Nay" votes (learn more). Most floor votes pass by overwhelming majorities, since unpopular bills get weeded out long before they reach the floor. As a result, "nay" votes are rare.
"Nay" votes 28617136175206
Total votes held 6029139269759109199311,0581,069
"Nay" rate 4.7%0.7%1.8%1.3%0.7%1.8%0.5%1.9%0.6%
Chamber average 7.2%2.8%3.2%2.7%2.5%4.0%2.6%3.4%3.9%
Difference -2.5-2.1-1.4-1.4-1.8-2.2-2.1-1.5-3.3
Comparison LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower
 
200720172018201920202021202220232024
Winning side rate (learn more). What percentage of the time (excluding near-unanimous votes) is the legislator on the winning side of a floor vote?
Winning side rate 77%90%79%91%88%87%89%86%91%
Chamber average 67%68%68%70%71%70%71%74%74%
Difference +11+22+11+21+17+16+18+13+17
Comparison HigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigher
 
200720172018201920202021202220232024
Ideology score (NOMINATE method) (learn more). Using W-NOMINATE algorithm developed by Congressional scholars, I calculate each legislator's relative ideology after each General Session. I describe the method here. Scores have no intrinsic meaning. They are only relative: A legislator with a higher score is to the right ideologically of a legislator with a lower scale. Scores may be compared only within a single chamber and a single year. In most years, a conservative Republican will have a score above 0; a score close to 100 is extreme.
Contact me for scores. They get misinterpreted often enough that I now provide them only to political scientists.
 
200720172018201920202021202220232024
Party support score (overall) (learn more). How consistently does Sen. Buxton support his/her party? That is, what percentage of the time does the legislator vote with the majority of the other members of his/her party? Scores are usually easily above 90%.
Score (overall) 95%99%98%99%99%99%100%99%99%
Chamber average 95%98%97%98%98%97%98%98%98%
Difference +0.3+1.6+0.9+0.9+1.0+1.9+1.7+0.3+1.2
Comparison ==HigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigher==Higher
 
200720172018201920202021202220232024
Party support score (party-line only) (learn more). This is the same as the "raw" party support score, but we look only at party-line votes when calculating this. A "party-line" vote occurs when the majority of Democrats votes against the majority of Republicans. Although party-line votes are rare, looking at the legislator's party support score in this setting can be revealing.
Score (party-line only) 60%95%93%98%88%97%100%98%96%
Chamber average 79%86%85%92%91%88%92%94%94%
Difference -19.3+8.1+7.9+5.9-2.7+8.7+8.2+3.3+2.1
Comparison LowerLowerHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherLowerHigherHigherHigherHigherHigher

Votes on Sen. Buxton's bills

Many votes have been held on bills sponsored by Sen. Buxton. In the interest of space, I display only the most and least divisive votes held on Sen. Buxton's bills.

Sen. Buxton's most divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Buxton that had the closest vote margin (as a percent of the total votes cast). When there are ties, I list the most recent bills first.

Year Sponsor Bill Ayes Nays Margin
(as % of total votes)
Type of vote
2018 Buxton SB0218 13 10 13% Senate/ failed
2018 Buxton SB0218 16 12 14% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2018 Buxton SB0218 18 8 38% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2020 Buxton SB0127 19 6 52% Senate/ concurs with House amendment
2020 Buxton SB0127 19 6 52% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2018 Buxton SB0228S01 21 6 56% Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
2020 Buxton SB0127 53 15 56% House/ passed 3rd reading
2007 Buxton HB0473S01 56 15 58% House/ passed 3rd reading
2018 Buxton SB0218 14 58 61% House/ failed
2021 Buxton SB0160 59 11 69% House/ passed 3rd reading

Sen. Buxton's least divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Buxton that had the widest vote margin (as a percent of the total votes cast). When there are ties, I display the most recent bills first.

Year Sponsor Bill Ayes Nays Margin
(as % of total votes)
Type of vote
2024 Buxton SB0159S04 20 0 100% Senate/ concurs with House amendment
2024 Buxton SB0159S04 26 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Buxton SB0159S04 25 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2024 Buxton SB0113S02 68 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Buxton SB0113S02 24 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2023 Buxton SB0168S01 73 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2022 Buxton SJR005S02 69 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2022 Buxton SB0082S03 24 0 100% Senate/ concurs with House amendment
2022 Buxton SB0082S03 64 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2022 Buxton SB0082S03 28 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading