RepublicanTom Cotton
U.S. Senator · Arkansas
U.S. Senator from Arkansas
6 tracked promises, 6 rated
Arkansas
Represents Arkansas statewide
How they won their seat
Tom Cotton won the 2020 U.S. Senate election in Arkansas with 66.5% of the vote (793,871 votes).
- Tom Cotton · Republican66.5%793,871
- Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. · Libertarian33.5%399,390
Certified results. Source: MIT Election Data + Science Lab (MEDSL) ↗. A plurality winner can hold under 50% when more than two candidates run.
Inferred legislative agendas
Tom Cotton's record includes multiple sponsored bills related to national security, particularly regarding China, as evidenced by the Countering CCP Act and the Securing America’s Drug Supply from Communist China Act. Additionally, his involvement in committees related to defense and military issues is noted. His voting record aligns closely with party positions. Focus areas (from the record): National Security · China · Defense · Immigration · Trade Alignment with declared positions: Consistent. Cotton's sponsored bills and committee memberships align with his declared positions on national security and defense, particularly his emphasis on countering China and strengthening the military. His tracked promises also reflect similar priorities. What this can't tell you: The record does not reveal the effectiveness of the sponsored bills or the impact of his legislative efforts; There is no information on his interactions with constituents or public statements that could provide insight into his engagement with the electorate; The record does not indicate any potential changes in his positions or strategies over time. Confidence: high (based on the volume of verified record on file).
Inferred, not stated. Tom Cotton has not necessarily stated these as goals. This is an AI-generated, nonpartisan reading of the patterns in their verified record — sponsored legislation, committee work, roll-call votes, and campaign-finance composition — and how those patterns compare to any declared positions and tracked promises. It describes what the record emphasizes, never imputes motive, and is run through an adversarial review pass that scrubs bias, loaded language, and any claim the evidence doesn’t support. It is not a quote, a claim they made, or a rating; every underlying item is sourced in the verified record below; and it never affects the Integrity Score.
Showing 2016. Every tile and chart below reflects this window; some record types (e.g. roll-call votes) only have data for recent years.
Activity in office
What Tom Cotton has actually done in office — sourced from official roll-call and government records, shown in full below. These are facts, separate from tracked promises and never folded into any score.
- Bills sponsored
- 14
Roll-call data last updated July 20, 2026 · source: Voteview.
Bills sponsored over time
Bills sponsored per year, stacked by outcome (latest action). Outcome data covers the 118th–119th Congresses; earlier years show as “awaiting status” until enriched. Source: Congress.gov.
Bill success rate
Bills SPONSORED in the 118th–119th Congresses, by their latest action. Source: Congress.gov.
Campaign finance over time
- Small-dollar (unitemized)$232K10%
- Large individual (itemized)$1.5M68%
- PAC / committee$467K21%
By election cycle. Source: FEC.
Committee memberships
- Member, Senate Committee on Armed ServicesOn record since Jan 2025Member
- Member, Senate Committee on Armed Services — AirlandOn record since Jan 2025Member
- Member, Senate Committee on Armed Services — CybersecurityOn record since Jan 2025Member
- Member, Senate Committee on Armed Services — Emerging Threats and CapabilitiesOn record since Jan 2025Member
- Member, Senate Committee on Armed Services — Strategic ForcesOn record since Jan 2025Member
- Member, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural ResourcesOn record since Jan 2025Member
- Member, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources — EnergyOn record since Jan 2025Member
- Member, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources — Public Lands, Forests, and MiningOn record since Jan 2025Member
- Member, Joint Economic CommitteeOn record since Jan 2025Member
- Chairman, Senate Select Committee on IntelligenceOn record since Jan 2025Chair
Source: Congress.gov.
Integrity
Promises kept vs. worked against — weighted breakdown+75 · based on 6 rated promises
- Ignored 1
- Championed 2
- Fully Kept 3
Teal segments are promises kept; amber and stone segments are promises worked against. The signed score weights each rated promise by significance and evidence confidence. Promise-keeping is shown separately from popularity, finance, disclosure, and stated positions. Methodology is open.
Integrity over time
In office since Jan 2015 · 6 rated promisesEach step is a real change in the sourced record — the score holds between assessments.
Promise status over time
How the tracked promise record has evolved.
- Kept5
- Against1
- No opportunity0
- In progress0
Replayed from this official’s sourced assessment history — the bands step only when an assessment is recorded or changed. Based on the most recent roll-call votes on file and the tracked promise assessments; never interpolated.
Topic coverage
6 promises across 5 topicsWhat this record covers — the number of tracked promises per topic. This is coverage, not a verdict; the kept/against shading within each bar mirrors the Integrity breakdown above.
- Immigration & Border Security2
- Defense & Military1
- Economy, Taxes & Inflation1
- National Security & China1
- Trade, Manufacturing & China1
Evidence & significance
Evidence quality
Strongest source cited per promise.
- Primary (official record)583%
- Reputable news117%
Significance mix
How weighty the tracked promises are (1 = minor, 5 = defining).
Significance weights each promise in the Integrity Score.
6 tracked promises
“Secure the border, end catch-and-release, and ensure criminal illegal aliens are detained and removed.”
“Get tough on China by stopping Chinese Communist Party espionage in U.S. universities and restricting visas for CCP-linked nationals.”
“Bring pharmaceutical and medical-supply manufacturing back to the United States and end U.S. dependence on China for essential medicines.”
“Keep taxes low on working families and preserve the 2017 Republican tax cuts.”
“Rebuild and strengthen the U.S. military and deliver defense investment to Arkansas installations.”
“Reform legal immigration to a merit-based system through the RAISE Act, ending chain migration and abolishing the diversity visa lottery.”
Verified record
375 sponsored bills · finance on fileFacts imported directly from official government sources — shown separately from tracked promises and never folded into the Integrity Score. Each entry links to its primary source.
FEC 2026 cycle — raised $2,213,218, spent $2,094,867, cash on hand $0.
View the FEC filing ↗Sponsored legislation
- Sponsored S 4984: A bill to amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure workplace choice and opportunity for young adults with disabilities. ↗Jul 15, 2026
- Sponsored S 4939: Countering CCP Act ↗Jun 24, 2026
- Sponsored S 4795: FREEDOM Act ↗Jun 16, 2026
- Sponsored S 4764: A bill to amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and for other purposes. ↗Jun 11, 2026
- Sponsored S 4760: A bill to amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and for other purposes. ↗Jun 11, 2026
- Sponsored S 4729: Biosecurity Smuggling Deterrence Act of 2026 ↗Jun 10, 2026
- Sponsored S 4615: Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 ↗May 20, 2026
- Sponsored S 4526: No Safe Haven for Terrorist Families Act ↗May 14, 2026
- Sponsored S 4461: Visual Protection of Strategic Assets Act ↗Apr 30, 2026
- Sponsored S 4465: A bill to amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and for other purposes. ↗Apr 30, 2026
- Sponsored S 4380: Critical Infrastructure Airspace Defense Act ↗Apr 22, 2026
- Sponsored S 4344: A bill to extend section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 for 3 years. ↗Apr 17, 2026
Showing the 12 most recent of 375 sponsored measures.
Voting record
- Total votes
- 858
- Yea
- 622
- Nay
- 223
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 13
Full voting record
858 votes- SJRES198Nay
- PN8518Yea
- PN9304Yea
- PN9304Yea
- S4784Yea
- PN9382Yea
- PN9303Yea
- SJRES185Nay
- PN9382Yea
- SJRES196Nay
- PN9303Yea
- PN9302Yea
- PN9302Yea
- PN9307Yea
- PN9307Yea
- HCONRES86Nay
- PN8593Yea
- HR6644Yea
- PN73033Yea
- HR6644Yea
Roll-call votes, 119th Congress. Source: Voteview (voteview.com). Click any vote to verify it independently.
Stated positions
5 positions on recordWhat this official says they believe — sourced claims, shown distinctly from tracked promises and from any assessment of what they did. A stated position is never scored and never affects the Integrity Score.
- National Security & ChinaStated position
Get tough on China by stopping Chinese Communist Party espionage in U.S. universities and restricting visas for CCP-linked nationals.
Sourceshttps://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-end-chinas-access-to-multi-year-visashttps://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-blackburn-kustoff-unveil-bill-to-restrict-chinese-stem-graduate-student-visas-and-thousand-talents-participantshttps://barr.house.gov/2025/9/barr-cotton-unveil-bill-to-stop-ccp-and-foreign-adversaries-from-exploiting-u-s-universitiesView position & sources → - Trade, Manufacturing & ChinaStated position
Bring pharmaceutical and medical-supply manufacturing back to the United States and end U.S. dependence on China for essential medicines.
Sourceshttps://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1407/texthttps://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/op-eds/china-stole-us-capacity-to-make-drugs-we-must-take-it-backhttps://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-gallagher-introduce-bill-to-end-us-dependence-on-chinese-manufactured-pharmaceuticalshttps://www.smith.senate.gov/u-s-senators-tina-smith-tom-cotton-reintroduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-boost-u-s-pharmaceutical-manufacturing/View position & sources → - Defense & MilitaryStated position
Rebuild and strengthen the U.S. military and deliver defense investment to Arkansas installations.
Sourceshttps://www.tomcotton.com/issueshttps://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/12/17/2025/cotton-statement-on-senate-passage-of-ndaahttps://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-statement-on-pine-bluff-arsenal-investmentView position & sources → - Economy, Taxes & InflationStated position
Keep taxes low on working families and preserve the 2017 Republican tax cuts.
Sourceshttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-debate-trump-one-big-beautiful-bill/https://www.axios.com/2025/07/01/republican-senators-vote-big-beautiful-bill-trumphttps://www.tomcotton.com/issuesView position & sources → - Immigration & Border SecurityStated position
Secure the border, end catch-and-release, and ensure criminal illegal aliens are detained and removed.
Sourceshttps://www.tomcotton.com/issueshttps://www.npr.org/2025/01/22/nx-s1-5253926/congress-laken-riley-acthttps://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=6A25E198-1065-4AE0-835C-C199A0035471https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-cotton-perdue-and-hawley-re-introduce-the-reforming-american-immigration-for-a-strong-economy-act-raise-acthttps://www.congress.gov/member/tom-cotton/C001095?q=%7B%22subject%22:%22Immigration%22,%22sponsorship%22:%22sponsored%22%7DView position & sources →
Disclosure
A separate measure from the promise scorecard above. It tracks confirmed cases where this official has acted on or championed an issue that already existed when they ran, but which they did not disclose as a priority in their campaign. Each case meets a high evidence bar — three independent sources — and the score is shown alongside the Integrity Score, never merged into it. How this is measured.
No undisclosed priorities on record. This is not a clean-audit claim — it means none have been confirmed for this official.
Office context & community edits
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