U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler is the freshman most likely to vote against his own party.
According to a vote analysis by CQPolitics.com, the Waynesville Democrat voted with his party on highly partisan bills just 82.9 percent of the time — the lowest among first-year representatives and fourth lowest overall.
Shuler, who takes conservative positions on some social issues, voted against the bills to promote embryonic stem cell research and to classify certain violent offenses as "hate crimes." He also voted against a defeated bill, backed by 169 Democrats and two Republicans, that called for the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq within 180 days.
House Democrats, by contrast, averaged a 96 percent party unity score overall, leading to criticism by Republicans that they are a "rubber stamp" for Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
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