U.S. Senator
Brian Schatz
Hawaii
DemocratProgressive
Contact
Voting Profile
Legislative Record
Most Active Policy Areas
#1 healthcare#2 other#3 environment energy#4 defense#5 social security
209
Votes Analyzed
Data sources: voteview, congress.gov
Political Position
Ideology Spectrum
-0.45Progressive
Senator Brian Schatz positions himself on the progressive end of the Democratic Party, with a voting record more liberal than the average Democrat in the Senate. His NOMINATE score of -0.449 indicates consistent alignment with progressive policy positions across most issue areas.
LiberalModerateConservative
Democrat avg
Near the average for Democrats (-0.38)
Data source: VoteView NOMINATE scores (UCLA/UC San Diego)
Policy Positions
Category Breakdown
209
total votes analyzed
Overview
Brian Schatz has served as a U.S. Senator from Hawaii since 2012, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Senator Daniel Inouye. He has established a voting record that reflects progressive priorities on most major policy areas. His voting patterns show strong support for Democratic priorities in healthcare, where he has cast 114 votes with a 56% rate of supporting measures that came to the floor. On defense matters, he shows notably high support at 86%, suggesting alignment with bipartisan national security priorities. His banking and finance votes show 100% support, though based on a small sample of 5 votes. Schatz's record on budget matters shows 0% support on the recorded votes, indicating opposition to budget proposals that reached the floor during this period—likely reflecting disagreement with Republican-led budget frameworks. Similarly, his agriculture votes show 0% support on the 3 recorded votes, though the small sample size limits broader conclusions.
Key Positions
- •Consistently votes with progressive Democratic positions
- •Strong support for defense-related measures (86% yea rate)
- •Supports banking and financial regulatory measures
- •Opposed budget proposals during the recorded period
- •Active participation in healthcare-related legislation
By Policy Area
Healthcare114
56% yea44% nay
Other25
44% yea56% nay
Environment & Energy23
52% yea48% nay
Defense22
86% yea14% nay
Social Security7
43% yea57% nay
Banking & Finance5
100% yea0% nay
Analysis updated: January 9, 2026
Campaign Finance
Follow the Money
Includes all authorized campaign committees (principal committee, joint fundraising, and other authorized committees). Outside spending by Super PACs and independent groups is shown separately below. Verify on FEC.gov →
Career: $16.7M
Fundraising Over Time
Raised per election cycleSpent
Contribution Sources
Individual$1.4M
74%
PAC / Committees$473K
26%
Individual Breakdown
Itemized (>$200)
$1.3M
Small Dollar (<$200)
$89K
Donation Sizes
Under $200
$91K · 9%
$200 – 499
$8K · 1%
$500 – 999
$56K · 5%
$1,000 – 1,999
$244K · 23%
$2,000+
$654K · 62%
Share of individual contribution dollars by donation size, current election cycle.
Where the Money Comes From
In-state (HI)$301K · 30%
Out-of-state$696K · 70%
Itemized individual contributions only (donations over $200 report the donor's state). Small-dollar donations are not included because the FEC does not itemize them.
HI
$301K
CA
$157K
NY
$96K
VA
$66K
MA
$65K
DC
$64K
MD
$41K
WA
$39K
Top Contributors
Top Contributing Industries
Top Donor Employers
NOT EMPLOYED$171K
SELF-EMPLOYED$55K
NULL$46K
ANTHROPIC$42K
FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK$19K
MATSON$15K
ANTHROPIC, PBC$14K
KKR$11K
BLACKSTONE$11K
COMCAST$10K
CAPE$9K
DAVIS LEVIN LIVINGSTON$8K
Employer as self-reported by itemized donors. “Not Employed” and “Self-Employed” typically rank highest for small-dollar campaigns and include retirees.
Where the Money Goes
Spending by Purpose
Other / Uncategorized
$427K
Fundraising
$153K
Administrative
$15K
Refunds
$12K
Contributions
$5K
Materials
$220
Purpose categories are self-reported on FEC filings; large “Other” totals are common.
Top Payees
1.$162K
O'BEIRNE, MAX
2.$98K
BUSINESS CARD SERVICES
3.$93K
LAFAVE, LORI B.
4.$51K
WELL & LIGHTHOUSE LLC
5.$39K
CAPITOL COMPLIANCE ASSOCIATES
6.$32K
NGP VAN, INC.
7.$29K
ACTBLUE TECHNICAL SERVICES
8.$26K
UNITED STATES TREASURY
Detailed Breakdown
Expenditures
Operating Costs
$1.1M
Operating Offsets
$5K
Net Operating
$1.1M
Refunds
Individual Refunds
$13K
Outside Spending (Super PACs)
Supporting
$1.3M
Opposing
$0
Total Outside Spending
$1.3M
Top Outside Spenders
01
$1.0MLEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS INC
+$1.0M
02
$242KWORKING FAMILIES FOR HAWAII
+$242K
03
$28KMOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION
+$28K
04
$2KINTERNATIONAL LONGSHORE AND WAREHOUSE UNION -- POLITICAL ACTION FUND
+$2K
05
$2KCLIMATE HAWKS VOTE
+$2K
06
$416.66PLANNED PARENTHOOD ALLIANCE PAC , SERVING WA, AK, ID, HI, IN, KY
+$416.66
07
$20SIERRA CLUB POLITICAL COMMITTEE
+$20
08
$10SIERRA CLUB INDEPENDENT ACTION
+$10
Independent expenditures are made without coordination with the candidate. Source: FEC Schedule E filings.
Coverage: 1/1/2023 – 6/30/2026FEC: S4HI00136Updated: 8/12/2026Source: FEC.gov (all authorized committees)
Voting Record
Congressional Votes
145 votes across 12 categories