Cornyn Primary Challenger Steve Stockman Shuns Primary Elections

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Rep. Steve Stockman (R) is having some voter turnout problems lately.

On top of being M.I.A. from Congress since the beginning of January, the Washington Examiner reported Friday that the avowed Tea Party activist hasn’t voted in a Republican primary election since 2004.

Stockman didn’t cast a single ballot in the 2012 primaries, according to voting records obtained by the Examiner. That means he did not support Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), whom he often invokes as a foil to his primary opponent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), in his upset race against Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R).

It also means Stockman didn’t even vote for his own congressional bid, as the Dallas Morning News points out.

Stockman did not cast a vote against Cornyn in 2008, that senator’s most recent primary election, according to those records. While the records showed Stockman did vote in general elections, he did not cast a ballot in the last two Republican presidential primaries either.

Stockman has missed every vote in the House since Jan. 9, including the vote on a $1.102 trillion omnibus spending bill that he vowed to oppose. In his absence, his Senate campaign has continued to update a website, cornynlovesobamacare.com, that ties his opponent to President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.

The Texas Republican teased a Monday return on his Twitter account, although it’s unclear if that indicates he’ll be back in Washington.

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