Voting patterns in the 97th United States Congress (1981), in which the Senate was under Republican control for the first time in 30 years, are analyzed. The study measured conservatism from congressional voting analyses made by the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), Americans for Constitutional Action (ACA), and the Conservative Coalition (CC). The ratings were restricted to roll call votes in both the House and the Senate. Also each member of Congress was rated according to how supportive he or she was of President Reagan's position on each bill. Variables included congressional members' seniority, party, religion, region, and sex. Results indicated that conservatism is predicted by a combination of factors, the strongest being political party (Republican) and region which the legislator represents (South). The legislator's support for the President's position on each bill was also statistically significant. The religion and sex of the legislators showed no significance. Finally, although seniority had no significance in the Senate, it showed a relationship to liberalism in the House. Recommendations for further research include a redefinition of regional variables, an analysis of freshman congressional voting behavior, and a study of membership on major standing committees. (KC)