Replication data for: A Bridge to Somewhere: Mapping State and Congressional Ideology on a Cross-Institutional Common Space

There are two major problems in applying ideal point estimation techniques to state legislatures. First, there has been a scarcity of longitudinal roll call data. Second, even where such data exist, scaling ideal points within a single state is inadequate. No comparisons can be made to other state legislatures or Congress. Our project suggests a solution to both of these problems. We use a new comparative data set of state legislative roll calls beginning in the mid-1990s to generate ideal points for legislators. We take advantage of the fact that state legislators sometimes go on to serve in Congress to create a common ideological scale by acting as ``bridge actors.'' Using these bridge actors for 11 states, we create new state legislative ideal points in congressional common space. We conclude by illustrating how these scores can be used to address important topics in state and legislative politics.