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 20% 77% 90% 5% 1997 28 71 96 3 S=Support; O=Oppose
Voting Participation Year % 1998 95 1997 99	Interest Groups Year ADA AFL-CIO CCUS ACU 1998 0% n/a 94% 96 % 1997 5 0 100 100
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

TEXAS 8 : Northern Houston suburbs; College Station

A thin strip of land connects the two bulbous portions of the 8th - suburban areas north of Houston and land surrounding the cities of Bryan and College Station. Comfortably Republican, the district resembles a lopsided barbell and contains not only the vast oil fields that characterize much of Texas, but also dairy farms and Texas A&M U., the state's oldest public institution of higher education.

Unlike the more liberal U. of Texas, Texas A&M has a conservative military and agricultural tradition that complements many of the 8th's values - free market economics and defense hawkishness. As a result, voters have given Republicans some of their largest margins in the state at every level. Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole garnered two-thirds of the vote in 1996, much more than the 49 percent he gathered statewide.

The two land masses of the 8th differ widely in economic character. At the eastern end, the more populous of the barbell's two ends, the northern Houston suburbs have planned communities that house executives from the Houston Advanced Research Center and the region's many medical facilities. The area nearer to College Station, however, depends more on farming. While benefiting from Houston's oil and gas industries, the steadying influence of Texas A&M and the dairy industry help keep the district as a whole healthy.

Major Industry
Health care, agriculture, education

Population
565,315 (1990)

Cities
College Station, 58,757 (1996); Kingwood (unincorporated), 37,350; Bryan (pt.), 35,999 (1990)

People
52% urban; 7% age 65+ (ranks 24 of 30 in state; bottom third nationally); 64% married couples, 35% married couples with children; 29% college educated (ranks seventh of 30 in state; top third nationally); 68% white collar (ranks sixth of 30 in state; top third nationally), 20% blue collar (ranks 23 of 30 in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)

Race
90% white, 5% black, 2% Asian; 7% Hispanic origin (1990)

Median Household Income
$40,160 (ranks fifth of 30 in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)

Unusual Features
George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M; Town of Chappell Hill was the first in Texas planned by a woman.

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