Political Positions
Saxton is best characterized as a moderate. The American Conservative Union counts his lifetime score as similar to conservative Democrat Gene Taylor's. In 2006, the nonpartisan National Journal listed him as one of the Congress's centrists. He supported taking action to ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security.
He argued against the estate tax in the Joint Economic Committee Study of 1998. This analysis examined the arguments for and against the federal estate tax and concluded that the estate tax generates costs to taxpayers, the economy and the environment which far exceeds any potential benefit that it might arguably produce.
He is conservative on abortion issues, which earned him a 100% rating by the Christian Coalition from 2003 to 2005. He has voted against bills that would authorize partial birth abortion, taxpayer-funded human embryo experimentation, and human cloning.
However, he supported liberal issues, such as gun control (Brady Bill and a ban on semi-automatic firearms). Saxton is supportive of environmentalism, which led him to be one of the few Republicans that the Sierra Club endorsed in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. He has received generally favorable ratings by other environmental groups. He was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters, Ocean Champions and the New Jersey Environmental Federation in his 2006 reelection bid. The Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Nature Conservancy have regularly given him high marks and various awards for his work on conservation issues. Saxton also co-founded the bi-partisan Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus. Saxton was also supportive of some gay rights measures, including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and hate crimes bills.
Saxton is a Member of both the Republican Main Street Partnership and Republicans for Environmental Protection
He supported bipartisan issues, such as federal campaign finance reform (Shays-Meehan and McCain-Feingold). He voted against NAFTA, but voted for CAFTA as a means to help reverse abject poverty and hunger, and ease potential political unrest in impoverished Latin America.
As a former public school teacher, he did not support school vouchers.
He endorsed his good friend Duncan Hunter in the 2008 Presidential Primary.
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