Washington, DC, Feb 27 - The Feb. 25 edition of National Journal magazine ranked U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) as the seventh most conservative member of the House, tied with fellow Georgia Rep. Nathan Deal.

"I demand a recount," Westmoreland joked. "The six members ahead of me must have rigged the test to come out as more conservative."

Westmoreland received a composite conservative score of 94.8 percent. The rankings are based on House roll call votes from 2005 on key economic, social and foreign policy issues. As an example, National Journal stated, an economic score of 72 on the conservative scale means that the representative was more conservative than 72 percent of his or her colleagues in that issue area during 2005. Only 1 percentage point separated Westmoreland from Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), whom National Journal ranked as the House’s most conservative member.

"These rankings aren’t perfect. Obviously, I’m suspicious of any ranking where I don’t get a 100 percent conservative score, but I think this list shows, generally, where members of the House fall on the political spectrum. In my case, it proves that I’ve kept my promises to the people of Georgia's 8th Congressional District. I told them that I’d vote for traditional values, low taxes and less spending. That’s what I’ve done – even when voting against spending bills wasn’t the most popular decision."