Former member of Congress · last served 112th Congress
Ben Chandler
Ben Chandler was a Democratic U.S. representative from Kentucky, first elected to Congress in 2004, who voted with most Democrats on 76% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes.
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
- YeaOn Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Agreeing to the Resolution — Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 8) to extend certain tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and…Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — Drywall Safety Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — To provide for the conveyance of certain property from the United States to the Maniilaq Association located in Kotzebue, Alaska.Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass — Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility ActJan 1, 2013 · Passed
5 most recent bills
- H.Res. 622 Congratulating the University of Kentucky Wildcats on winning the 2012 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Division I basketball championship.Apr 18, 2012 · Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
- H.R. 3490 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities ActMar 29, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
- H.Res. 279 Raising awareness of the risk of internal bleeding for patients taking anti-coagulant drugs.Jun 3, 2011 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- H.R. 578 No Parole for Sex Offenders ActFeb 14, 2011 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
- H.R. 577 Elder Abuse Prevention ActFeb 14, 2011 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 3021 (110th) 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities ActPassed a chamber
- H.R. 2187 (111th) 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities ActPassed a chamber
- H.R. 869 (111th) To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 101 Barr Street in Lexington, Kentucky, as the "Scott Reed Federal Building and…Passed a chamber
- H.R. 478 (110th) To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 101 Barr Street in Lexington, Kentucky, as the "Scott Reed Federal Building and…Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 980 (109th) Expressing condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims of the crash of Comair Flight 5191, and for other purposes.Passed a chamber
- H.R. 4530 (109th) To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 101 Barr Street in Lexington, Kentucky, as the "Scott Reed Federal Building and…Passed a chamber
- H.R. 5928 (109th) 21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act of 200630 cosponsors
- H.R. 5722 (109th) Elder Abuse Prevention Act of 20066 cosponsors
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Chandler has won
Rep. Chandler has won 4 U.S. House elections (2004–2010). Of the contested races, margins ran from 0.3 to 70.9 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 Kentucky’s 6th district done while Rep. Chandler served?
2005 to 2011 in KY-6: typical household income was down 6% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 2.9 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 3.6 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 Kentucky’s 6th district during Chandler’s time representing it (2004 to 2013). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.
Only one set of district lines is shown. KY-6 was redrawn in 2012 and again in 2022, and a redrawn district is a different place. So this card shows only the longest stretch on the same lines during the term, 2005 to 2011 (no 2020 yearly estimate), not the full 2004 to 2013.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
112th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 5 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 5 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a sponsor’s constitutional-authority statement | 3 | See the 3 → |
| 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.