Former member of Congress · last served 112th Congress
Dennis A. Cardoza
Dennis Cardoza was a Democratic U.S. representative from California, first elected to Congress in 2003, who voted with most Democrats on 76% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 1 bill that became law (108th–112th Congress).
How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.
5 most recent votes
- Not VotingOn Agreeing to the Resolution — A concurrent resolution providing for a conditional adjournment or recess of the Senate and an adjournment of the House of Representatives.Aug 2, 2012 · Failed
- Not VotingOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree — Expressing the sense of Congress regarding actions to preserve and advance the multistakeholder governance model under which the Internet…Aug 2, 2012 · Passed
- Not VotingOn Passage — Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2012Aug 2, 2012 · Passed
- Not VotingOn Motion to Recommit with Instructions — Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2012Aug 2, 2012 · Failed
- Not VotingOn Passage — Pathway to Job Creation through a Simpler, Fairer Tax Code Act of 2012Aug 2, 2012 · Passed
5 most recent bills
- H.R. 1175 Oleoresin Capsicum Spray Pilot Program Act of 2011Jun 1, 2011 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
- H.R. 1598 Solar Opportunity and Local Access Rights ActMay 2, 2011 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.
- H.R. 363 Housing Opportunity and Mortgage Equity Act of 2011Mar 23, 2011 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises.
- H.R. 106 Public Official Accountability ActJan 24, 2011 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
- H.Res. 1557 Supporting the facility under development by the Stanislaus County Ag Center Foundation, in Stanislaus County, California, known as the National Ag Science…Nov 16, 2010 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 1199 (110th) Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007Became law
- H.Con.Res. 88 (110th) Honoring the life of Ernest Gallo.Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 108 (111th) Providing for consideration of the bill (S. 352) to postpone the DTV transition date.Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 1113 (111th) Providing for further consideration of the bill (H.R. 2701) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2010 for intelligence and intelligence-related…Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 1126 (111th) Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4247) to prevent and reduce the use of physical restraint and seclusion in schools, and for other purposes.Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 1205 (111th) Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4849) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for small business job creation…Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 1495 (111th) Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5618) to continue Federal unemployment programs, and waiving a requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII with…Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 406 (111th) Providing for further consideration of the bill (H.R. 1728) to amend the Truth in Lending Act to reform consumer mortgage practices and provide accountability…Passed a chamber
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Cardoza has won
Rep. Cardoza has won 5 U.S. House elections (2002–2010). Of the contested races, margins ran from 7.9 to 35.0 points.
Full election history for this seat →
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.
How has California’s 18th district done while Rep. Cardoza served?
2005 to 2011 in CA-18: typical household income was down 14% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 8.1 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 6.0 points.
Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Teal = district, oxblood = state, grey = U.S.
While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in California’s 18th district during Cardoza’s time representing it (2003 to 2012). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.
One set of district lines. CA-18 was redrawn in 2012 and again in 2022 (the survey year the new lines first appear), but every survey year in Cardoza’s term so far (2005 to 2011) uses the same lines, so they can be compared. The Census Bureau has no 2020 yearly estimate.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
112th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 4 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 4 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a sponsor’s constitutional-authority statement | 4 | See the 4 → |
| With a CBO cost estimate listed | 0 | None listed |
| With a committee report listed | 0 | None listed |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 112th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
- Fields
- cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
- PORKER copy refreshed
- October 26, 2026 (nightly)
Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.
Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded House vote Sep 16, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.