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Senator Daniel W. Thatcher
Utah legislator profile

Years served in the Utah legislature

First session in legislature: 2011
Most recent year of service for which data are available: 2024
Total sessions served in Utah House as of 2024: 0
Total sessions served in Utah Senate as of 2024: 14

How to read the statistical profile

I present a variety of statistics about Sen. Daniel W. Thatcher'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. Thatcher's statistical profile

20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Service summary. Service prior to 2007 (if any) is not shown here. My database goes back only to 2007.
  Chamber SenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenate
  District S12S12S12S12S12S12S12S12S12S12S12S12S11S11
  Party RRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Leadership NoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNone
Years in chamber 1234567891011121314
Years comparison LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower========HigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigher
 
20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Bills sponsored (learn more) Bills written and promoted by the legislator in his/her own chamber.
Introduced by Thatcher 45127641318811121210
Chamber average 119.811111110119.6109.79.49.61110
Difference -6.6-4.8+1.2-3.6-5.4-6.1+2.4+8.4-2.2+1.3+2.6+2.4-10.1-10.3
Comparison LowerLower==LowerLowerLowerHigherHigherHigherLower==HigherHigherLowerLowerLowerLower
 
20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Bill passage rate (learn more). What percent of Sen. Thatcher's sponsored bills pass and are officially "enrolled"? (I ignore whether the governor signed or vetoted the bill.)
Bills introduced 45127641318811121210
Bills passed 241045310166991110
Passage rate 50%80%83%57%83%75%77%89%75%82%75%92%100%0.0%
Chamber average 70%72%65%70%68%68%74%83%78%70%71%71%72%72%
Difference -20.2+8.3+18-12.7+15+7.4+3.3+5.7-3.4+12+4.3+21+28-71.8
Comparison LowerHigherHigherLowerHigher========Higher==HigherHigherHigherLowerLowerLower
 
20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
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 549531210181112131212
Chamber average 1112111112131314141312131516
Difference -6.4-7.8-2.1-6.5-9.3-0.8-3.4+3.8-2.6-1.3+0.6-1.4-14.2-14.5
Comparison LowerLower==LowerLower==============LowerLowerLowerLower
 
20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
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 10879130123105104124147178139131169698332
Total votes held 9408909408409518609139269759109199311,0581,069
Absentee rate 11%8.9%14%15%11%12%14%16%18%15%14%18%66%31%
Chamber average 14%9.9%11%12%12%14%10%13%11%11%8.0%12%13%13%
Difference -3.4-1.0+2.9+3.5-0.7-2.0+3.6+2.9+6.8+3.5+6.0+5.8+53+18
Comparison Lower==HigherHigher====Higher==HigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigher
 
20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
"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 204027162118124587111023
Total votes held 9408909408409518609139269759109199311,0581,069
"Nay" rate 2.1%4.5%2.9%1.9%2.2%2.1%1.3%0.4%0.5%0.9%0.8%1.2%0.9%2.2%
Chamber average 3.4%4.8%3.7%3.6%4.8%3.7%2.8%3.2%2.7%2.5%4.0%2.6%3.4%3.9%
Difference -1.3-0.3-0.8-1.7-2.6-1.6-1.5-2.8-2.2-1.6-3.2-1.4-2.5-1.7
Comparison Lower====LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower
 
20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
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 84%64%72%72%76%74%70%74%86%74%82%73%64%75%
Chamber average 72%70%69%67%68%67%68%68%70%71%70%71%74%74%
Difference +12-6.5+3.1+4.7+7.8+7.0+2.4+5.9+16+2.6+12+2.4-10.0+1.5
Comparison HigherLower====HigherHigher==HigherHigher==Higher==Lower==
 
20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
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.
 
20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Party support score (overall) (learn more). How consistently does Sen. Thatcher 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) 98%95%97%98%98%98%99%99%99%99%99%98%97%97%
Chamber average 98%96%97%97%96%97%98%97%98%98%97%98%98%98%
Difference +0.5-1.2+0.3+0.9+1.7+0.9+0.7+1.2+1.0+0.4+1.4+0.4-1.4-1.2
Comparison HigherLower==HigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigherHigher==LowerLowerLower
 
20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
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%81%89%92%95%89%89%85%92%86%84%78%65%80%
Chamber average 91%88%85%84%83%87%86%85%92%91%88%92%94%94%
Difference +1.4-7.0+3.6+8.2+13+1.8+2.10.0+0.5-5.2-4.1-13.7-29.4-14.2
Comparison ==LowerHigherHigherHigherHigher========LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower

Votes on Sen. Thatcher's bills

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

Sen. Thatcher's most divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Thatcher 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
2019 Thatcher SB0171S01 34 34 0.0% House/ failed
2022 Thatcher SB0164 41 32 12% House/ passed 3rd reading
2018 Thatcher SB0016S03 16 11 19% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2019 Thatcher SB0103S04 18 11 24% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2018 Thatcher SB0038 44 24 29% House/ passed 3rd reading
2020 Thatcher SB0248 46 23 33% House/ passed 3rd reading
2019 Thatcher SB0103S04 19 9 36% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2021 Thatcher SB0157S01 16 7 39% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2020 Thatcher SB0081S01 50 21 41% House/ passed 3rd reading
2014 Thatcher SB0037 20 50 43% House/ failed

Sen. Thatcher's least divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Thatcher 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
2023 Thatcher SB0017S01 67 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2023 Thatcher SB0017S01 24 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
2022 Thatcher SB0177S01 26 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2022 Thatcher SB0177S01 21 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2022 Thatcher SB0171S01 67 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2022 Thatcher SB0156S01 73 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2022 Thatcher SB0156S01 25 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2022 Thatcher SB0156S01 23 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2022 Thatcher SB0040 23 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
2022 Thatcher SB0038S01 28 0 100% Senate/ concurs with House amendment