The file

Chris Van Hollen

Democratic · U.S. Senator, Maryland · Maryland · Spectrum score -43

Senate ·

Chris Van Hollen is U.S. Senator, Maryland in Maryland. Political positions and ideology score -43 (Left). Van Hollen is the letter.

College: Swarthmore College, B.A. 1982 · Harvard Kennedy School, M.P.P. 1985 · Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. 1990
Spouse: Katherine Wilkens (m. 1987)
Children: Three
Résumé: U.S. Senator · Maryland · 2017–
U.S. Representative · Maryland-8 · 2003–2017
Maryland Senate / House · 1991–2003

Net worth: $3.6M
Salary: $174,000
Before office: $800K
2026 raised: $6.4M
Years in office: 23

Where Chris stands on the spectrum

Chris Van Hollen scores -43 on Spectrum’s left–right line (left), left of center on the economy and progressive on social issues. The number is modeled from twelve issue positions and the public record — not a poll and not a party label.

Composite -43 · Left · economic -52 · social -45 · authoritarian -21

Confidence 94. How we calculate scores →

Background & record

Van Hollen is the letter. The file is a Maryland Democrat who wrote himself into the Gaza story, a suburban donor list that is not uniformly grateful, and a budget job that is the actual power. The clip is foreign policy. The gavel is numbers.

Finances

Modeled midpoints from public disclosures — not an audit of any household.

Net worth

$3.6M

+350% since taking office

Senate disclosure midpoint, 2024

Before office$800K

Now$3.6M

Maryland, a professional household, a national foreign-policy brand on Gaza that his suburban donors did not all order.

Money in · 2026 cycle

Raised: $6.4M
Cash on hand: $2.8M

Top industries

Lawyers
Unions
Health
Public-sector

Stock holdings

Index / retirement funds

Maryland professional. Funds.

Disclosure midpoint, 2024–25 · STOCK Act ranges, not an audit

VTI
Vanguard Total Stock Market
Joint
$250K–$1.0M
VXUS
Vanguard Total International
Joint
$75K–$300K

Ticker	Name	Owner	Range
VTI	Vanguard Total Stock Market	Joint	$250K–$1.0M
VXUS	Vanguard Total International	Joint	$75K–$300K

Sum of ranges $325K–$1.3M · midpoint $813K

X sentiment

Last 7 days

Odds

Polymarket · Kalshi

Implied probability from open contracts. Real money, not a poll. Updates while you sit here.

Live wire

Live · checked just now

New articles land here as they publish. Checking about every 12 seconds.

Conflicts

Gaza votes vs a Maryland donor class that includes a large pro-Israel suburban bloc.
Budget-committee liberal in a state that is also NSA-and-NIH country.

Issue detail

−100 left pole · +100 right pole

Economic: -52
Social: -45
Authoritarian: -21
Confidence: 94

Taxes & spending-50
Higher taxes on high earners, larger public budget
Health care-60
Public or single-payer coverage as a right
Climate & energy-56
Aggressive climate rules and fossil-fuel phase-down
Business regulation-48
Stronger antitrust, labor, and consumer rules
Labor & wages-46
Unions, higher minimum wage, worker power
Immigration-40
A broader legal path, less interior enforcement
Abortion-72
Legal access, opposed to bans
Guns-54
Licensing, assault-weapon limits, red-flag laws
Crime & policing-24
Reform, diversion, less incarceration
Schools & speech-48
Public-school investment, DEI frameworks
Defense & alliances-14
Diplomacy-first, smaller overseas footprint
Civil liberties-28
Privacy, speech, limits on surveillance and bans

Legislative first dimension (NOMINATE-like): -0.39

Compass

Auth · leftAuth · rightLib · leftLib · rightAuthoritarianLibertarianEconomic leftEconomic right

Sources

DW-NOMINATE
Wealth and fundraising are modeled midpoints from public disclosures — not an audit.
College, family, and résumé are public-record facts, not a campaign bio.