The New York Times reports this morning that as Sen. Sam Brownback tours Iowa in the early phases of his presidential campaign that he “is struggling to make himself known to most voters, and to convince them that his views on the issues are more important than the name recognition enjoyed by his better-known rivals in the crowded field seeking the Republican nomination.”
And the paper notes that Brownback, who is traveling only with two aides, faces a crowded field of more popular candidates who, like Sen. John McCain, roll into town with busloads of reporters and staff members.
Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback has circled the globe (seen in this photo in Iraq) and made several trips to the key primary states as he goes into full presidential campaign mode. But, one place he hasn’t spent much time is in the Senate, where the Associate Press is reporting he has missed more than half of his roll call votes this month.
“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,” the AP wrote. “… Before this year, Brownback had a 98 percent voting record.”
Brownback spokesman Brian Hart said Brownback “will continue to serve the people of Kansas to the best of his ability.”
As Kansas Senator Sam Brownback runs for President, we can’t help but note the Senator’s conversion to Catholicism from his Methodist farm roots. His wife, Mary Stauffer Brownback, and their children remain members of the Topeka Bible Church. Brownback was brought into the Catholic Church by an Opus Dei priest. Interfaith families are often posed with many challenges. Given his high profile, The Hall Monitor wonders if this may be an issue that could create further challenges.
The Stauffer family helped create the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas, and the family has owned major newspapers in Kansas, including the Topeka Daily Capitol.