National Taxpayers Union Rates Labrador over McCarthy in Race for Majority Leader

On Thursday, House Republicans will vote to elect a new majority leader and, in all likelihood, a new majority whip. Last week, National Taxpayers Union (NTU) posted the NTU Rating of Congress scores of the various candidates for these two important leadership positions. 

Since that time, the Majority Leader race has winnowed down to two men – pitting current Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) against Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID).

NTU’s rating “sheds a great deal of light on how consistently lawmakers have supported lower taxes and limited government. That’s because NTU’s scorecard incorporates every single vote that affects taxes, spending, and debt.”

Here’s how the candidates stack up on NTU’s scorecard:

Candidate	2012 Score	2012 Grade	2012 Rank	Lifetime Average Score*
McCarthy	72%	B-	144	79%
Labrador	90%	A	5	90%

*Lifetime average score is the arithmetic mean of each year’s score. Please note that grading criteria changes from year to year.

McCarthy is a heavy favorite. If he does win, it would open up the position of majority whip. Running for that post are Republican Study Committee Chairman Steve Scalise (R-LA), Rep. Pete Roskam (R-IL), who is currently the chief deputy whip, and Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN).

Here are their ratings on NTU’s scorecard:

Candidate	2012 Score	2012 Grade	2012 Rank	Lifetime Average Score*
Scalise	82%	B+	57	84%
Roskam	69%	C+	170	78%
Stutzman	86%	A	24	87%

*Lifetime average score is the arithmetic mean of each year’s score. Please note that grading criteria changes from year to year.