Jim Matheson - U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. House of Representatives

Matheson is co-chairman of the Blue Dog Coalition, a conservative group of 25 Democrats in the House. He also is a member of the New Democrat Coalition.

Like numerous Utah Democrats, Matheson is relatively conservative by national party standards. In the National Journal ratings in 2010, Matheson was more conservative than 51% of his colleagues, but more liberal than 49%, making him one of the most conservative Democrats, yet a centrist overall. On November 3, Matheson voted against requiring public disclosure of bonuses and golden parachute arrangements (agreements between a company and an employee specifying that the employee will receive significant benefits if they are terminated). This was a bill that the Democrats heavily supported and the Republicans opposed; only five other Democrats voted against the bill.