Scoring

Each grader's documented values, scored against each candidate's whole 2026 platform. Click any row for the five-sentence reasoning and footnoted sources. Scale: 0–10, where 10 is complete alignment.

Grader	Paxton	Talarico	Margin
Foundational moral figures
Hebrew Prophets, The 8th–6th c. BCE	2	8	T +6
Jesus of the Gospels c. 4 BCE–c. 30 CE	2	8	T +6
Muhammad, Prophet 570–632 CE	2	6	T +4
Gandhi, Mahatma 1869–1948	1	7	T +6
Pope John Paul II papacy 1978–2005	4	6	T +2
Pope Leo XIV papacy 2025–	3	7	T +4
Founding fathers
Franklin, Benjamin 1706–1790	3	6	T +3
Washington, George 1789–1797	2	6	T +4
Adams, John 1797–1801	2	6	T +4
Jefferson, Thomas 1801–1809	4	6	T +2
Madison, James 1809–1817	2	7	T +5
Hamilton, Alexander 1755–1804	3	7	T +4
Monroe, James 1817–1825	3	6	T +3
Texas figures
Houston, Sam 1793–1863	2	6	T +4
Jordan, Barbara 1936–1996	1	7	T +6
Later presidents
Lincoln, Abraham 1861–1865	3	6	T +3
Roosevelt, Theodore 1901–1909	3	7	T +4
Roosevelt, Franklin D. 1933–1945	1	8	T +7
Eisenhower, Dwight 1953–1961	2	6	T +4
Carter, Jimmy 1977–1981	1	8	T +7
Reagan, Ronald 1981–1989	5	4	P +1
Other politicians & military leaders
McCain, John 1936–2018	2	6	T +4
Mandela, Nelson 1918–2013	1	8	T +7
King, Martin Luther Jr. 1929–1968	1	8	T +7
Marshall, George C. 1880–1959	2	6	T +4
Powell, Colin 1937–2021	2	6	T +4
Jurists
O'Connor, Sandra Day 1930–2023	2	6	T +4
Marshall Court tradition federal institutionalism, 1801–1835	3	6	T +3
Lochner / classical-liberal tradition economic substantive due process, 1897–1937	4	3	P +1
Warren Court tradition rights-protective constitutionalism, 1953–1969	1	8	T +7
Originalism (Scalia/Gorsuch strand) textualism & original public meaning, 1986–present	4	4	tie
Borkian judicial restraint defer-to-democratic-majorities, 1971–present	6	3	P +3
Contemporary leaders
Cronkite, Walter 1916–2009	2	6	T +4
Rogers, Mr. (Fred) 1928–2003	1	8	T +7
Nelson, Willie 1933–	1	9	T +8
Public intellectuals
Friedman, Milton 1912–2006	4	4	tie
Sowell, Thomas 1930–	4	3	P +1
Sagan, Carl 1934–1996	2	6	T +4
Business leaders
Buffett, Warren 1930–	3	6	T +3
Cuban, Mark 1958–	2	7	T +5
Dimon, Jamie 1956–	2	5	T +3
Interests by life stage
Interests of a 6-Year-Old Child	2	8	T +6
Interests of an 18-Year-Old	1	9	T +8
Interests of a 30-Year-Old	2	8	T +6
Interests of a 50-Year-Old	3	7	T +4
Interests of a 65-Year-Old	3	8	T +5
Institutions & organizations
AARP	2	9	T +7
ACLU	2	7	T +5
AFL-CIO	1	9	T +8
Cato Institute	4	5	T +1
Forbes Magazine	3	4	T +1
League of Women Voters	1	9	T +8
Modern LDS Church	5	5	tie
Modern Pentecostal Church	9	2	P +7
National Review (Buckley fusionism)	3	3	tie
Southern Baptist Convention	7	2	P +5
Texas Association of Business	4	4	tie
Texas Farm Bureau	4	5	T +1
Texas State Bar	1	6	T +5
US Chamber of Commerce	3	4	T +1
Veterans (VFW/Legion/IAVA composite)	4	6	T +2
Wall Street Journal Editorial Board	3	4	T +1