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U.S. Senator from North Carolina

Ted Budd

Republican · North Carolina

Gun store owner and former House member, elected to Senate in 2022. Focus on gun rights, fiscal conservatism, and free markets. Banking and Foreign Relations committee member.

Record

Staunch conservative. Gun shop owner and strong 2nd Amendment defender. Focus on deregulation, fiscal responsibility, and free trade. Strong opponent of government healthcare programs.

Legislative Record

Recently sponsored bills (8 on record)

  • S.5063 — FIRST Act (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)
  • S.5043 — Secure Drug Supply Chain Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 21, 2026)
  • S.4873 — Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance Act (Introduced, Jun 23, 2026)
  • S.4750 — Semiconductor Superiority Act (Introduced, Jun 11, 2026)
  • S.4690 — Encouraging Public Offerings Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jun 4, 2026)
  • S.4627 — FARM AI Act of 2026 (Introduced, May 21, 2026)
  • S.4593 — Detention Authority Clarification Act (Introduced, May 20, 2026)
  • S.1970 — MACV–SOG Congressional Gold Medal Act (Introduced, Jun 5, 2025)

Notable votes

  • Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — S. Res. 817 (Resolution Agreed to, Jul 30, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: S. Res. 817 (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jul 29, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on H.R. 6644 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6644 with an Amendment (SA 5823) (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jun 18, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S. 2 — S. 2, As Amended (Bill Passed, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Cortez Masto Amdt. No. 5463 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Padilla Amdt. No. 5808 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Gallego Amdt. No. 5813 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Peters Amdt. No. 5763 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)

Recently cosponsored bills (12 on record)

  • S.5179 — A bill to clarify that for purposes of Federal nondiscrimination requirements applicable to education programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance, discrimination prohibited under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is based on the biological reality of sex. (Introduced, Jul 30, 2026)
  • S.3101 — SAFE KIDS Act (Introduced, Jul 29, 2026)
  • S.4621 — SILVER Act (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.5099 — A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize a grant program for addressing dental workforce needs. (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
  • S.204 — Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act (Introduced, Jul 21, 2026)
  • S.177 — Protect Funding for Women's Health Care Act (Introduced, Jul 20, 2026)
  • S.4952 — Protecting American Taxpayers Act (Introduced, Jul 20, 2026)
  • S.3784 — Accounting STEM Pursuit Act (Introduced, Jul 16, 2026)

Voting analysis

Ted Budd chairs the commerce subcommittee on science, manufacturing and competitiveness, and sits in the most frequently defecting third of Senate Republicans — while still departing far less often than the other senator from his state.

7.4%
Votes against the Republican majority
216
Roll calls where a party majority formed
16 of 51
Rank among Senate Republicans, most defections first

One bill, blocked at every gate

A housing measure accounts for the largest single block of his record, and he opposed it at each stage it had to clear: the motion to end debate, an amendment folded into it, a second cloture motion covering that amendment, and passage itself. Four votes, one bill, one answer each time. Where some members register an objection once and let a measure go, this is an attempt to stop something at every point where stopping it was procedurally possible.

The remainder are amendments he supported that his conference would not take, and a benefits bill he voted against at passage.

The 10 most recent of 16 roll calls where Ted Budd voted against the Senate Republican majority.
Roll callDateOutcomeTheir vote
S.Con.Res. 33
Paul Amdt. No. 5378
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 5378 to S.Con.Res. 33 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Apr 23, 2026Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 6644
H.R. 6644, as amended
On Passage of the Bill H.R. 6644 · roll call 119		Mar 12, 2026Bill PassedNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 6644
Motion to Invoke Cloture: H.R. 6644 as amended
On the Cloture Motion H.R. 6644 · roll call 119		Mar 11, 2026Cloture Motion Agreed toNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 6644
Scott (SC) Amdt. No. 4308, as amended
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 4308 to H.R. 6644 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Mar 11, 2026Amendment Agreed toNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 6644
Motion to Invoke Cloture Re: Amdt. No. 4308
On the Cloture Motion S.Amdt. 4308 to H.R. 6644 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Mar 10, 2026Cloture Motion Agreed toNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 3944
Johnson Amdt. No. 3428
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3428 to S.Amdt. 3411 to H.R. 3944 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Aug 1, 2025Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 3944
Scott (FL) Amdt. No. 3113, as modified
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3113 to S.Amdt. 3411 to H.R. 3944 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Aug 1, 2025Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 3944
Kennedy Amdt. No. 3414
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3414 to S.Amdt. 3411 to H.R. 3944 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Aug 1, 2025Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 1
Lee Amdt. No. 2745
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 2745 to S.Amdt. 2360 to H.R. 1 (No short title on file) · roll call 119		Jul 1, 2025Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 82
On Passage of the Bill H.R. 82 · roll call 118		Dec 21, 2024Bill PassedNay (party: Yea)

The North Carolina comparison

Both North Carolina Senate seats are Republican, and the state average is set well above Budd's own rate by his colleague. Being below that average while sitting in the chamber's more defection-prone group is a reminder that these comparisons are local, not absolute.

Among the 2 Republicans in the North Carolina delegation, the average rate of voting against the party majority is 9.0%. Ted Budd is below that average at 7.4%.

What he legislates on

A first act, a secure drug supply chain measure, a bill on human flourishing in foreign assistance, a semiconductor bill, and one encouraging public offerings. No single subject dominates the classification.

Sponsored bills carry the Congressional Research Service's own subject classification. Ted Budd's cluster into: Agriculture and Food (1), Armed Forces and National Security (1), Finance and Financial Sector (1), Health (1), Immigration (1), International Affairs (1).

273
Bills sponsored
2007
Bills cosponsored

Of the 8 most recent of those, 8 currently sit at Introduced.

Tenure and attendance

Counting House service before this seat places him in the middle band. Few roll calls happen without him.

First elected in 2017, now serving across 5 terms. Ted Budd falls in the mid cohort.

1.8%
Roll calls recorded as not voting
220
Roll calls eligible to vote on
4
Recorded as not voting

By the numbers

In the 119th Congress, Ted Budd has 273 bills sponsored, 2007 cosponsored, 8 recent floor votes recorded.

Committee assignments

  • Joint Economic Committee
  • Senate Committee on Armed Services
  • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
  • Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
  • Senate Committee on Armed Services: Airland
  • Senate Committee on Armed Services: Cybersecurity
  • Senate Committee on Armed Services: Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  • Senate Committee on Armed Services: Personnel
  • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Aviation, Space, and Innovation
  • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness (Chairman)
  • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Telecommunications and Media

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