Vitter misses votes to campaign for governor

WASHINGTON – Republican Sen. David Vitter has missed 22 votes so far this Congress, in some cases because he was back in Louisiana, where he's running for governor.

Vitter has been absent for 12 percent of the 180 roll call votes taken between Jan. 6, when the 114th Congress convened, and mid-May.

For several of those votes, he was campaigning in Louisiana or holding field hearings there as chairman of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee

He's not alone. Senators running for president in 2016 also missed votes.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) missed 20 percent of the floor votes and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texasx) missed more than 25 percent. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, missed a handful of votes.

It's a common dilemma for lawmakers seeking the presidency or another office. They must balance the demands of a campaign with the responsibilities of representing constituents.

Vitter said campaigning has not affected his work in Washington.

"I think we're doing a lot of positive, effective things here,'' he said.

He cited growing support for a bipartisan bill he introduced with Sen. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), to overhaul the nation's toxic chemicals law.

Many of the votes Vitter missed were on resolutions and nominations, and most happened on a Monday. Many lawmakers travel to their districts for the weekend and return Monday.

Vitter missed two procedural votes on a fiscal 2016 Homeland Security appropriations bill March 2. That morning, he met with Lafayette-area oil and gas officials to talk about help he could provide if he wins the governor's race.

The same afternoon, he chaired a Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing in Lake Charles on how small businesses could help support the country's energy renaissance.

Vitter also was chairing a committee field hearing in Lafayette on March 23, when the Senate voted to confirm William P. Doyle as federal maritime commissioner.

Pearson Cross, a political scientist at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, said Vitter's 22 missed votes aren't likely to resonate with voters unless the number grows or he skips a crucial vote.

"He's smart enough to know as long as you're in office and you're running for another office, you have to make sure that you can't be accused of ignoring the office you're in,'' Cross said.

GOP leaders will help Vitter and Republicans up for re-election by scheduling votes at convenient times, Cross said.

"They don't want to embarrass those people,'' he said.

By comparison, Cross said, Gov. Bobby Jindal's record of missed votes in his second term in the House was "atrocious.'' Jindal was elected to the House in 2004.

"Of course, he was running for governor pretty much full time and missed an amazing proportion of his second-term votes, but paid no price at all, really,'' Cross said of the governor.

As a committee chairman, Vitter has held 17 hearings, including 11 field hearings, nearly all in Louisiana.

"We've had a jam-packed agenda,'' he said. "I don't think that's slowing down any.''

Twitter: @dberrygannett