CQ Voting Studies are an annual analysis of a member's support or opposition to a given position. Interest Group Ratings are based on rankings from groups chosen to represent liberal, conservative, business and labor viewpoints.Voting Participation scores are based on the number of times a member voted "yea" or "nay" on roll call votes (not including quorum calls in the House). CQ Vote Studies Year Presidential Support Party Unity   S* O* S O 1998 28% 71% 89% 10% 1997 35 65 88 10 1996 41 56 88 10 1995 23 75 92 7 1994 47 46 84 10 1993 52 47 86 11 1992 66 17 77 8 1991 72 22 80 12 1990 54 35 74 11 S=Support; O=Oppose
Voting Participation Year % 1998 99 1997 98 1996 98 1995 99 1994 96 1993 97 1992 88 1991 91 1990 87	Interest Groups Year ADA AFL-CIO CCUS ACU 1998 0% n/a 100% 92 % 1997 10 13 100 80 1996 5 0 94 90 1995 10 0 100 72 1994 10 29 100 84 1993 5 17 100 78 1992 15 10 88 90 1991 10 18 100 79 1990 17 9 91 74
Note on Interest Groups: ADA=Americans for Democratic Action; AFL-CIO=American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations; CCUS=Chamber of Commerce of the United States; ACU=American Conservative Union

CALIFORNIA 21 : Kern and Tulare counties - Bakersfield

The 21st lies between Fresno and Los Angeles, in California's inland core. The district votes consistently Republican, and about three-fourths of its vote comes from Kern County in the southern half of the district. The rest comes from new territory pulled in from Tulare County to the north, added during 1992 redistricting.

Both Kern and Tulare counties have a strong agricultural base and together produce billions of dollars in crops such as grapes, citrus, cotton and nuts. Tulare County also is among the nation's largest dairy producing regions, while Kern is known for its oil production.

Bakersfield, in the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, is Kern County's largest city. Here, oil and agriculture dominate the economy, although the city is trying to diversify by promoting its growing telecommunications, financial and light manufacturing sectors.

People moving from the Los Angeles Basin and the San Francisco Bay have led to growth that could eventually mean the loss of prime agricultural land, a major political issue in the 21st.

Major Industry
Agriculture, oil, military

Military Bases
China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (shared with 40th District), 382 military, 3,298 civilian (1998); Edwards Air Force Base (shared with 25th District), 4,545 military, 9,080 civilian (1998)

Population
571,143 (1990)

Cities
Bakersfield (pt.), 154,916; Visalia (pt.), 49,090; Tulare (pt.), 32,935 (1990)

People
52% urban; 11% age 65+ (ranks 26 of 52 in state; bottom third nationally); 59% married couples, 30% married couples with children; 15% college educated (ranks 39 of 52 in state; bottom third nationally); 55% white collar (ranks 34 of 52 in state; middle third nationally), 26% blue collar (ranks 18 of 52 in state; middle third nationally) (1990)

Race
78% white, 4% black, 3% Asian; 20% Hispanic origin (1990)

Median Household Income
$29,943 (ranks 41 of 52 in state; middle third nationally) (1990)

Unusual Features
Bakersfield known as the country music capital of the West; Country music star Buck Owens has his Crystal Palace, museum and theater in Bakersfield; Nation's first jet- and rocket-powered flights took off from Edwards Air Force Base; World's largest novelty ice cream plant, Nestle Ice Cream Co., in Bakersfield.

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