Auto Bailout Voting Patterns
Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted on the Big Three bailout plan (see it here). The proposal passed by a vote of 237-170, with most Democrats supporting and most Republicans opposing. Considering the recent spate of articles linking bailout opposing Senators to the foreign automotive industry (see this Boston Globe piece in particular), I figured it would be worth it to take a look at the Democrats who voted “No” on the bailout. Do they hail from districts or states that house foreign automotive factories? In their case, the verdict is split:
| Name | State | Plant in District | Location/Plant in State |
| Boyd, Allen | FL | No | |
| Butterfield, G.K. | GA | Yes | Black Creek, NC; Northhampton County, NC |
| Cardoza, Dennis | CA | No | Plants in state |
| Childers, Travis | MS | Yes | Blue Springs, MS |
| Cooper, Jim | TN | Yes | Smyrna, TN |
| Davis, Artur | AL | Yes | Hope Hull, AL |
| Filner, Bob | CA | No | Plant operates in state |
| Giffords, Gabrielle | AZ | No | |
| Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie | SD | No | |
| Kagen, Steve | WI | No | |
| Marshall, Jim | GA | Yes | West Point, GA |
| Matheson, Jim | UT | No | |
| McIntyre, Mike | NC | No | Plants operate in state |
| Mitchell, Harry | AZ | No | |
| Peterson, Collin | MN | No | |
| Rahall, Nick | WV | No | Plants operate in state |
| Rodriguez, Ciro | TX | Yes | El Paso, Texas pursuing foreign auto contract |
| Shuler, Heath | NC | Yes | Buncombe County, NC |
| Stark, Pete | CA | Yes | Fremont, CA |
| Walz, Tim | MN | No |
Of the twenty Democratic lawmakers voting “No,” ten represent districts with foreign automotive plants (this includes Rep. Ciro Rodriguez who represents El Paso, TX, which is actively courting foreign auto companies to build a plant in the city). If the lawmakers representing states with foreign plants are included that number jumps twelve out of twenty, or 60%.
While constituent concerns may trump party identification in this case, these lawmakers may simply be opposed to bailouts. Twelve of the twenty lawmakers voted against the financial bailout and the auto bailout. Of the eight lawmakers voting for the financial bailout and against the auto bailout four of them represent districts or states that house foreign auto plants.
More on Republicans voting “Yes” later.
