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Senator Ronald Winterton
Utah legislator profile

Years served in the Utah legislature

First session in legislature: 2019
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: 6

How to read the statistical profile

I present a variety of statistics about Sen. Ronald Winterton'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. Winterton's statistical profile

201920202021202220232024
Service summary. Service prior to 2007 (if any) is not shown here. My database goes back only to 2007.
  Chamber SenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenate
  District S26S26S26S26S20S20
  Party RRRRRR
Leadership NoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNone
Years in chamber 123456
Years comparison LowerLowerLowerLower====
 
201920202021202220232024
Bills sponsored (learn more) Bills written and promoted by the legislator in his/her own chamber.
Introduced by Winterton 4141095
Chamber average 109.79.49.61110
Difference -6.2-8.7-5.4+0.4-2.1-5.3
Comparison LowerLowerLowerLowerLower====Lower
 
201920202021202220232024
Bill passage rate (learn more). What percent of Sen. Winterton's sponsored bills pass and are officially "enrolled"? (I ignore whether the governor signed or vetoted the bill.)
Bills introduced 4141095
Bills passed 2031074
Passage rate 50%0.0%75%100%78%80%
Chamber average 78%70%71%71%72%72%
Difference -28.4-70.5+4.3+29+6.1+8.2
Comparison LowerLowerLowerLowerLower==HigherHigher====
 
201920202021202220232024
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 9775913
Chamber average 141312131516
Difference -4.6-6.3-5.4-8.4-6.2-3.5
Comparison LowerLowerLowerLowerLower==
 
201920202021202220232024
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 68922526823
Total votes held 9759109199311,0581,069
Absentee rate 7.0%1.0%2.4%5.6%6.4%2.2%
Chamber average 11%11%8.0%12%13%13%
Difference -4.2-10.5-5.6-6.6-6.7-10.6
Comparison LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower
 
201920202021202220232024
"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 283443182830
Total votes held 9759109199311,0581,069
"Nay" rate 2.9%3.7%4.7%1.9%2.6%2.8%
Chamber average 2.7%2.5%4.0%2.6%3.4%3.9%
Difference +0.2+1.2+0.7-0.7-0.8-1.1
Comparison ==Higher========
 
201920202021202220232024
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 79%64%74%80%85%85%
Chamber average 70%71%70%71%74%74%
Difference +8.7-6.6+4.3+9.4+11+11
Comparison HigherLower==HigherHigherHigher
 
201920202021202220232024
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.
 
201920202021202220232024
Party support score (overall) (learn more). How consistently does Sen. Winterton 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%97%96%98%98%98%
Chamber average 98%98%97%98%98%98%
Difference -0.6-1.0-0.8+0.4-0.4+0.1
Comparison LowerLowerLower==Lower==
 
201920202021202220232024
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%92%90%97%96%92%
Chamber average 92%91%88%92%94%94%
Difference +1.4+0.8+2.2+5.6+1.2-1.6
Comparison ======Higher====

Votes on Sen. Winterton's bills

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

Sen. Winterton's most divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Winterton 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 Winterton SB0187S04 16 11 19% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2021 Winterton SB0187S04 44 26 26% House/ passed 3rd reading
2023 Winterton SB0255S01 16 9 28% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2021 Winterton SB0167S01 19 9 36% Senate/ concurs with House amendment
2021 Winterton SB0167S01 17 8 36% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2021 Winterton SB0167S01 46 21 37% House/ passed 3rd reading
2022 Winterton SB0049S02 50 22 39% House/ passed 3rd reading
2022 Winterton SB0049S02 17 7 42% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2021 Winterton SB0167S01 16 6 45% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2023 Winterton SB0107S04 19 7 46% Senate/ concurs with House amendment

Sen. Winterton's least divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Winterton 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 Winterton SB0115 71 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Winterton SB0115 28 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Winterton SB0115 24 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2024 Winterton SB0073S01 72 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Winterton SB0073S01 23 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Winterton SB0073S01 26 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2024 Winterton SB0051S01 23 0 100% Senate/ concurs with House amendment
2024 Winterton SB0051S01 75 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Winterton SB0040 73 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Winterton SB0040 26 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension