PORKEROpen the app

Former member of Congress · last served 115th Congress

Official portrait of Sen. John McCain

John McCain

REPUBLICAN U.S. Senator · ArizonaSenate 1987–2018 · House 1983–1987 (AZ-1)

John Mccain was a Republican U.S. senator from Arizona, first elected to Congress in 1983, who voted with most Republicans on 85% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 3 bills that became law (113th–115th Congress).

Open full dossier →
87Bills & resolutions sponsored113th–115th Congress (excludes amendments)
6Passed a chamberof 72 substantive bills (excludes resolutions and ceremonial bills)
3Became law3 substantive + 0 ceremonial · 113th–115th Congress
37Broke with partyof 244 yes/no votes, 112th (15.2%)
7Missed votesof 251 roll calls, 112th (2.8%)
—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

5 most recent bills

Top bills sponsored

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

Elections Sen. McCain has won

Sen. McCain has won 2 U.S. House elections (1982–1984) and 6 U.S. Senate elections (1986, 1992, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2016). Of the contested races, margins ran from 13.0 to 56.1 points.

010204060Margin of victory, points (axis starts at 0)1982, AZ-1: won by 35.4 points1982AZ-11984, AZ-1: won by 56.1 points19841986, AZ Senate: won by 21.0 points1986AZ Senate1992, AZ Senate: won by 24.2 points19921998, AZ Senate: won by 41.6 points19982004, AZ Senate: won by 56.1 points20042010, AZ Senate: won by 24.2 points20102016, AZ Senate: won by 13.0 points2016
Democratic winRepublican winseat changed partyunopposed
Elections won8 in the data (1976–2024); losses are not listed
Closest win: 13.0 points2016, AZ Senate
Won an open seat or took one from the other party2 of 8 elections (open seat or changed party)
Seat history, Arizona’s 1st districtWinners, most recent three: Ann Kirkpatrick (D) 2012–2014 → Tom O’Halleran (D) 2016–2020 → David Schweikert (R) 2022–2024. Elections shown, not terms; special elections not included.
Seat history, Arizona Senate (class 3)Winners in regular elections, most recent three: Barry Goldwater (R) 1980 → John McCain (R) 1986–2016 → Mark Kelly (D) 2022. The seat is next on the ballot in 2028.

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 Arizona done while Sen. McCain served?

2005 to 2017 in Arizona: typical household income was about the same after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 0.7 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was down 0.5 points.

Typical household income · after inflationU.S. $77.5KArizona $72.6K
Arizona: $71.5K in 2005 → $72.6K in 2017
Arizona about the sameU.S. up 4%
Share of people below the poverty lineArizona 14.9%U.S. 13.4%
Arizona: 14.2% in 2005 → 14.9% in 2017
Arizona up 0.7 pointsU.S. about the same
Share of workers looking for a jobArizona 5.8%U.S. 5.3%
Arizona: 6.3% in 2005 → 5.8% in 2017
Arizona down 0.5 pointsU.S. down 1.6 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. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.

While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Arizona during McCain’s time representing it (1987 to 2018). 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 Arizona begin in 2005, so 1987 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

115th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 24 bills sponsored.

RecordBillsSource
Bills sponsored24Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them →
With a CBO cost estimate listed6See the 6 →
With a committee report listed5See the 5 →
Evidence
How counted
Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 115th 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.

Open full dossier →

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.