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A study ranks U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce as one of the most bipartisan members of the House last year with Republican Bill Johnson, who resigned Jan. 21 as a congressman, experiencing a major jump in the report for working with Democrats.
Joyce, whose district includes all of Trumbull County, was the 15th most bipartisan House member during the 2023 session, according to the study from the Lugar Center and Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy.
Joyce, R-Bainbridge, also was ranked 15th in the study of the 117th Congress, which included 2021 to 2022. Joyce said he was "honored" with the latest ranking.
"Bipartisanship is the cornerstone for effective governing," Joyce said.
"Since coming to Congress, I have recognized that reality and made a concerted effort to work with my colleagues across the aisle to deliver results back home."
Joyce has a strong history of bipartisanship in previous studies. The studies are released annually. During even-numbered years, it takes in the prior year. In odd-numbered years, it tallies bipartisanship for the previous two-year congressional session.
Joyce was 44th in the report for the 2019-2020 session, 56th in the 2017-2018 session and 29th in the 2015-2016 session. Joyce is running this year for his seventh two-year term in the House.
Johnson in the latest report made the top 100 for the first time. Johnson resigned Jan. 21 from the House after 13 years of service to become Youngstown State University president.
Johnson's district included all of Mahoning and Columbiana counties.
Johnson was 120th in the 2021-2022 session, 298th in the 2019-2020 session, 149th in the 2017-2018 session and 205th in the 2015-2016 session.
Asked to comment on his improved bipartisan ranking, Johnson declined saying, "I stepped away from politics on Jan. 21 and my focus today is on all things associated with improving the student experience for some 11,000 students, taking care of our over 1,600 faculty and staff, and generally moving YSU forward."
Johnson's successor through the end of this year will be determined in a June 11 special election between state Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, and Democrat Michael L. Kripchak of Youngstown.
The Lugar Center, a public think tank, and the McCourt School review every bill, excluding resolutions, to determine if those introduced by members received co-sponsorship from the opposite party as well as how often legislators added their names in support of a bill introduced by a member of the other political party. The study also considers the amount of bipartisan support for a bill.
While the study doesn't measure if bills are actually approved by the legislative branch, it uses a historical standard based on 20 years of data to compare members to historical averages.
Extreme partisans on both ends of the political spectrum fare poorly in the study.
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, was last in the latest House study with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, second to last.
There are 435 House members and 100 senators.
Democrat Tim Ryan, who represented the Mahoning Valley for 20 years before losing the 2022 U.S. Senate race, often did well in these reports.
Ryan was 26th in the 2021-2022 session, 42nd in the 2019-2020 session, 97th in the 2017-2018 session and 72nd in the 2015-2016 session.
In the U.S. Senate, Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, who is running this year for reelection, finished the 2023 session as the 39th most bipartisan member.
Brown was 30th in the 2021-2022 session.
But he was in the lower half of the Senate during the three previous two-year sessions: 54th in 2019-2020, 58th in 2017-2018 and 68th in 2015-2016.
U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Cincinnati, who beat Ryan for the seat, finished as the 79th most bipartisan senator in his first study.
Republican Rob Portman, Vance's predecessor, ranked very high for bipartisanship during his time in the Senate, according to the studies. Portman was fourth in the 2021-2022 session, third in the 2019-2020 session, second in the 2017-2018 session and third in the 2015-2016 session.