Paul Ryan would be the most conservative House speaker since at least the 1940s

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the reluctant frontrunner in the House speaker race, would be the most conservative speaker in decades if elected, National Journal reports. Using DW-NOMINATE, a scale that compares political ideologies throughout history, Ryan earned himself a 0.58 where 1 is the most conservative and -1 the most liberal. Based on House and Senate roll call votes, DW-NOMINATE puts former contender Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and challenger Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) both at 0.48; outgoing Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) ranked the most conservative in recent history with 0.53, still five points short of Ryan.

While Ryan's high score further highlights the Republican Party's much-talked-about rightward swing, the last Democratic speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), also ranked as the most liberal of at least nine of the speakers who came before her, with -0.50 on the DW-NOMINATE scale.

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