GovTrack, a well-known organization that monitors congressional voting records, has taken down a webpage that labeled Kamala Harris as the “most liberal” senator of 2019.
This deletion, confirmed by GovTrack to Fox News Digital, occurred sometime within the last two weeks.
The webpage, which had previously drawn significant attention during the 2020 election, ranked Harris as the “most liberal” senator, placing her ahead of other prominent figures like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
However, the link to this ranking now leads to a “Page Not Found” message. The Internet Archive reveals that the page was deleted between July 10 and July 23, with some users on X (formerly known as Twitter) claiming the page was still accessible on July 22.
This development coincides with recent political shifts. On July 21, President Biden announced he was suspending his re-election campaign and endorsing Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Harris followed with an announcement on July 23, stating she had secured enough delegates for the nomination at the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
Joshua Tauberer, the founder of GovTrack, explained that the webpage was removed as part of a policy shift that ended single-year ratings of lawmakers in favor of evaluations based on two-year congressional sessions.
“We determined that the limited data available in a single year was not sufficient to create a reliable portrait of the activity of legislators, particularly given the ebbs and flows of the legislative calendar,” Tauberer said. He acknowledged that the page was taken down recently but did not specify the exact date.
Tauberer also pointed out that GovTrack continues to publish report cards based on two-year sessions and referred to Harris’s 2020 page, which ranked her as the “most politically left compared to Senate Democrats” for the 116th Congress. Notably, she was ranked as the second most liberal in the entire Senate, behind Bernie Sanders.
In October 2020, GovTrack adjusted its ranking terminology from “most liberal” to “most politically left.” Their analysis, which factors in legislative behavior and bipartisan bill sponsorship, showed that Harris engaged in bipartisan legislation less frequently than her Democratic peers in 2019.
During a 2020 interview with CBS News’s Norah O’Donnell, Harris was questioned about being “considered the most liberal United States senator.”
“Somebody said that, and it was actually Mike Pence on the debate stage,” Harris answered.
O’Donnell then informed her the “nonpartisan” GovTrack had rated her as the most liberal senator.
“You supported the Green New Deal, you supported Medicare for all,” O’Donnell added
The Trump campaign seized on this ranking in 2020 after Biden named Harris as his running mate, countering a New York Times piece that portrayed Harris as a “pragmatic moderate.”
The campaign’s email in August 2020 highlighted GovTrack’s ranking, labeling Harris as “a radical left-wing liberal.”
This week, Harris’s 2019 ranking resurfaced in political discussions following Biden’s endorsement of her presidential bid.
In a letter to the American public, Biden cited mounting calls for him to suspend his re-election campaign. Harris expressed her gratitude for Biden’s endorsement and declared her intention to secure the Democratic nomination.
This is not the only instance where mainstream media has tried to change Harris’ history.
Axios faced backlash on Wednesday for a report suggesting Harris wasn’t the “border czar,” contradicting its earlier claims. The outlet later corrected its story.
Harris has garnered endorsements from influential figures, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.