The most conservative N.C. lawmaker is ...

Which lawmakers are the true conservatives and liberals of the N.C. General Assembly?

Two conservative organizations released their ratings of North Carolina's legislators this morning. Civitas has been ranking N.C. legislators for three years, while The American Conservative Union, already renowned for its annual Ratings of Congress, is giving state legislators a try this year. Each set of ratings are based on selected votes taken in the N.C. House and Senate.

Enough with the intro. Your most conservative N.C. legislator is ... Sen. Harris Blake of Moore County.

Blake was the only lawmaker in the General Assembly to get a perfect 100 score from Civitas. ACU set the bar a little lower in handing out perfect scores to 60 "Defenders of Liberty," including House speaker Thom Tillis of Mecklenburg.

The most liberal N.C. legislator? There's some dispute over that title. Civitas says the most liberal was Democratic Rep. Alma Adams of Guilford, but she was not one of the 10 N.C. lawmakers who received a zero from ACU. None of those 10 were from the Charlotte area, but don't fret: ACU had Mecklenburg Democrat Charlie Dannelly as the second most liberal senator; Civitas had him fourth.

The best (and worst) of the rest, according to Civitas.

N.C. House, highest ranked:

1. Rep. John Blust (R - Guilford) - 98.0; Rep. Tim Moffitt (R -Buncombe) - 98.0 (tied for number 1 ranking).

N.C. House, lowest ranked:

118. Rep. Alma Adams (D - Guilford) - 12.2 - ranked 118
119. Rep. Earline Parmon (D - Forsyth) - 10.8 - ranked 119

N.C. Senate, highest ranked:

1. Sen. Harris Blake (R - Moore) - 100.0
2. Tie of 17 senators with a conservative score of 97.67.

N.C. Senate, lowest ranked:

49. Sen. Charlie Dannelly (D - Mecklenburg) - 26.8.
50. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird (D - Orange) - 20.9.

You can find Civitas' complete ratings, including which bills the lawmakers were judged on, at www.civitasaction.org. ACU will have its N.C. rankings available later today at conservative.org.