Former member of Congress · last served 113th Congress

John F. Kerry

DEMOCRAT U.S. Senator · MassachusettsSenate 1985–2013

John Kerry was a Democratic U.S. senator from Massachusetts, first elected to Congress in 1985, who voted with most Democrats on 96% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes.

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1Bills & resolutions sponsored113th–113th Congress (excludes amendments)

0Passed a chamberof 0 substantive bills (excludes resolutions and ceremonial bills)

0Became law113th–113th Congress

11Broke with partyof 248 yes/no votes, 112th (4.4%)

3Missed votesof 251 roll calls, 112th (1.2%)

—Pork: own shareFY2024 earmarks: not in office

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 Passage of the Bill — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
Jan 1, 2013 · Bill Passed
Not VotingOn the Nomination — Nomination vote
Dec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
Not VotingOn the Nomination — Nomination vote
Dec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
YeaOn Passage of the Bill — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
Dec 28, 2012 · Bill Passed
NayOn the Amendment — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
Dec 28, 2012 · Amendment Rejected

5 most recent bills

S. 48 A bill for the relief of Genesio Januario Oliveira.
Jan 22, 2013 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
S. 2318 Department of State Rewards Program Update and Technical Corrections Act of 2012
Jan 15, 2013 · Became Public Law No: 112-283.
S. 3331 Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012
Jan 14, 2013 · Became Public Law No: 112-276.
S. 3702 SERV Act
Dec 20, 2012 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
S. 3691 STRONG Act
Dec 19, 2012 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Top bills sponsored

Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.

Elections Sen. Kerry has won

Sen. Kerry has won 5 U.S. Senate elections (1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, 2008). Of the contested races, margins ran from 7.5 to 55.8 points.

Democratic winRepublican winseat changed partyunopposed

Elections won5 in the data (1976–2024); losses are not listed

Closest win: 7.5 points1996, MA Senate

Won an open seat or took one from the other party1 of 5 elections (open seat or changed party)

Seat history, Massachusetts Senate (class 2)Winners in regular elections, most recent three: Paul Tsongas (D) 1978 → John F. Kerry (D) 1984–2008 → Edward J. Markey (D) 2014–2020. The seat is next on the ballot in 2026.

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 Massachusetts done while Sen. Kerry served?

2005 to 2012 in Massachusetts: typical household income was down 3% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 1.6 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 2.1 points.

Typical household income · after inflation

Massachusetts: $92.3K in 2005 → $89.7K in 2012

Massachusetts down 3%U.S. down 6%

Share of people below the poverty line

Massachusetts: 10.3% in 2005 → 11.9% in 2012

Massachusetts up 1.6 pointsU.S. up 2.6 points

Share of workers looking for a job

Massachusetts: 6.4% in 2005 → 8.5% in 2012

Massachusetts up 2.1 pointsU.S. up 2.5 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. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.

While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Massachusetts during Kerry’s time representing it (1985 to 2013). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.

Survey years start at 2005. The yearly estimates for Massachusetts begin in 2005, so 1985 to 2004 are not shown. No 2020 yearly estimate exists.

See the full 20-year record →Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates (tables B19013, B17001, B23001) and BLS CPI-U-RS for inflation, retrieved October 18, 2026. “About the same” means the change is inside the 90% margins of error. Who held the seat: Congress.gov member service records, year level.

Official records on bills this member sponsored

113th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 1 bill sponsored.

Record	Bills	Source
Bills sponsored	1	Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them →
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 113th 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.

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Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded Senate vote Sep 30, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.