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Senator Karen Kwan
Utah legislator profile

Years served in the Utah legislature

First session in legislature: 2017
Most recent year of service for which data are available: 2025
Total sessions served in Utah House as of 2025: 6
Total sessions served in Utah Senate as of 2025: 3

How to read the statistical profile

I present a variety of statistics about Sen. Karen Kwan'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. Kwan's statistical profile

201720182019202020212022202320242025
Service summary. Service prior to 2007 (if any) is not shown here. My database goes back only to 2007.
  Chamber HouseHouseHouseHouseHouseHouseSenateSenateSenate
  District H34H34H34H34H34H34S12S12S12
  Party DDDDDDDDD
Leadership NoneNoneCaucusMgrCaucusMgrWhipWhipNoneNoneNone
Years in chamber 123456123
Years comparison LowerLowerLowerLower====LowerLowerLower
 
201720182019202020212022202320242025
Bills sponsored (learn more) Bills written and promoted by the legislator in his/her own chamber.
Introduced by Kwan 2664627115
Chamber average 6.77.17.37.36.67.1111013
Difference -4.7-1.1-1.3-3.3-0.6-5.1-4.1+0.7-7.9
Comparison LowerLower====Lower==LowerLowerLower==LowerLower
 
201720182019202020212022202320242025
Bill passage rate (learn more). What percent of Sen. Kwan's sponsored bills pass and are officially "enrolled"? (I ignore whether the governor signed or vetoted the bill.)
Bills introduced 2664627115
Bills passed 246231493
Passage rate 100%67%100%50%50%50%57%82%60%
Chamber average 61%53%63%58%60%58%72%72%60%
Difference +39+14+37-7.6-9.8-8.2-14.9+10+0.4
Comparison HigherHigherHigherHigherHigher==Lower==LowerHigher==
 
201720182019202020212022202320242025
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 101012035
Chamber average 3.63.43.43.13.13.0151618
Difference -2.6-3.4-2.4-3.1-2.1-1.0-15.2-13.5-13.0
Comparison LowerLowerLowerLowerLower==LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower
 
201720182019202020212022202320242025
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 173518364168313
Total votes held 7277347526986667111,0541,0691,105
Absentee rate 2.3%4.8%2.4%5.2%0.6%2.3%0.8%2.9%0.3%
Chamber average 5.2%8.0%6.4%7.1%6.1%5.7%13%13%14%
Difference -2.9-3.2-4.0-1.9-5.5-3.4-12.3-9.9-13.8
Comparison Lower==Lower==LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower
 
201720182019202020212022202320242025
"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 101686451665495102144
Total votes held 7277347526986667111,0541,0691,105
"Nay" rate 14%9.3%8.5%7.3%9.9%7.6%9.0%9.5%13%
Chamber average 7.1%6.5%6.5%7.0%7.7%6.5%3.4%3.9%5.3%
Difference +6.9+2.8+2.0+0.3+2.2+1.1+5.6+5.6+7.7
Comparison HigherHigherHigherHigher==HigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigher
 
201720182019202020212022202320242025
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 53%58%47%60%39%59%26%28%34%
Chamber average 67%66%68%67%66%67%74%74%67%
Difference -13.9-8.7-21.0-7.0-27.3-7.9-47.2-45.7-33.7
Comparison LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower
 
201720182019202020212022202320242025
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.
 
201720182019202020212022202320242025
Party support score (overall) (learn more). How consistently does Sen. Kwan 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) 97%98%98%98%99%98%100%99%99%
Chamber average 95%94%95%95%94%95%98%98%97%
Difference +2.3+4.6+2.4+3.2+5.0+2.8+1.2+1.1+1.7
Comparison HigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigher
 
201720182019202020212022202320242025
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) 93%93%90%92%93%89%98%93%94%
Chamber average 87%83%85%83%85%84%94%94%91%
Difference +5.5+10+5.8+8.6+8.6+4.7+3.4-0.6+2.7
Comparison HigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigher==Higher

Votes on Sen. Kwan's bills

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

Sen. Kwan's most divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Kwan 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
2021 Kwan HB0031 36 37 1.4% House/ failed
2023 Kwan SB0140S01 34 32 3.0% House/ failed
2025 Kwan SB0114S02 15 14 3.4% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2025 Kwan SB0114S02 13 15 7.1% Senate/ failed
2021 Kwan HB0031 41 33 11% House/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Kwan SB0114S02 17 12 17% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2020 Kwan HB0256 48 26 30% House/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Kwan SB0214S01 17 8 36% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2023 Kwan SB0140S01 42 18 40% House/ motion to reconsider
2018 Kwan HB0206 16 6 45% Senate/ passed 2nd reading

Sen. Kwan's least divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Kwan 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
2025 Kwan SB0144S03 69 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Kwan SB0101 62 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Kwan SB0101 28 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Kwan SB0101 29 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2025 Kwan SB0079S01 26 0 100% Senate/ concurs with House amendment
2025 Kwan SB0079S01 71 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Kwan SB0079S01 29 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Kwan SB0079S01 26 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2024 Kwan SJR014 25 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Kwan SJR014 22 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading