Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback missed more than half the votes taken in the Senate last month as he ramped up his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.Brownback skipped 20 of the 39 roll call votes in January, or 51 percent, according to Senate voting records. That's a higher absence rate than any other member of the Senate except Democrat Tim Johnson of South Dakota, who is recovering from a brain hemorrhage he suffered before the new session of Congress began.
Brownback spokesman Brian Hart said the numbers are skewed because nine of the votes Brownback missed happened while he was on a weeklong fact-finding trip to the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia in early January.
But Brownback missed most of the other votes for appearances to bolster his White House bid.