Democratic presidential candidates are frequently absent from their duties in the Senate to be on the campaign trail.
Seven candidates top the list of the most absent senators since the start of the 116th Congress in January. Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, and Bernie Sanders have each missed half of their Senate votes.
Booker, a New Jersey senator, tops the absentee list, missing 52.1% of votes according to Pro Publica. Harris, from California, who implemented an anti-truancy program when she was San Francisco’s district attorney, missed 50.5% of votes, and Sanders of Vermont missed 49.8% of votes.
Presidential hopefuls Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand (who dropped out of the race in August), Michael Bennet, and Amy Klobuchar are the next four most absent senators, with missed vote percentages ranging from 37.4% for Warren to 25.2% for Klobuchar.
“Bernie has made a commitment over this next year to give it his best shot to run for President and win. He’s all in. That sometimes comes at the expense of missing a few Senate votes, but if there are ever any votes that hinge on his presence, he will certainly be there,” Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir said in a statement. Sanders, 78, suffered a heart attack last week and plans to scale back his number of rallies.
Harris is stepping up her time on the campaign trail after her poll numbers declined over the summer. She embraced an overheard “I’m f—ing moving to Iowa” comment and plans to visit the state every week in October.
Absentee rates skyrocketed after senators announced presidential bids. During the 115th Congress from 2017 to 2018, no Senator missed more than 14% of votes. Booker was absent for 4.7% votes, Harris missed 0.3% and Sanders missed 2.5%.
This cycle’s Democratic candidates have also missed a higher proportion of votes than 2016 Republican presidential hopefuls did. During the 114th Congress from 2015 to 2016, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was the most absent, missing 32.3% of votes. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, another Republican presidential candidate that cycle, missed 31.3%.
Current absentee rates for Democratic presidential hopefuls may fluctuate because the 116th Congress lasts through 2020.
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg has also faced backlash for his time on the presidential campaign trail. The South Bend Tribune in May calculated that he spent about 45% of calendar days away from his city.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said he announced his candidacy later than most other candidates, in mid-May, because he wanted to wait until the end of Montana’s legislative session in April.
The campaigns for Booker, Harris, Warren, Klobuchar, and Bennet did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.
