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Steve Stockman: I Wasn't MIA, I Was Visiting Egypt And Russia

Rep. Steve Stockman Found After Being MIA On Campaign Trail For Weeks
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Washington Bureau Chief, HuffPost

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WASHINGTON -- Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) has barely been seen in the past month, despite all the legwork that needs to be done in his uphill bid to defeat Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). He's missed 17 straight votes since Jan. 9, and he's largely been a nonentity on the campaign trail. But on Monday, Stockman finally decided to make his existence known again, insisting he has been traveling abroad on official duties as well as spending time campaigning in Texas.

In comments to Breitbart News, Stockman said he traveled to Russia, Egypt, Israel and England as part of an official 10-day congressional delegation trip. Neither Stockman's office nor the House Foreign Relations Committee immediately returned a request from The Huffington Post about the exact dates he was abroad.

An Associated Press story last week mentioned that a congressional delegation led by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) met with Egypt's interim President Adly Mansour on Jan. 19. No new press releases have been posted on Stockman's site since Dec. 12.

"There was 5 of us on the trip. They were laughing at the whole steve is missing thing," Stockman told Breitbart via text message from London. He also claimed that reporters knew about the official trip and simply "pretended" he was missing.

None of the other members of the trip, however, missed the House votes. Stockman said he was missing for those because he was campaigning.

"I missed votes because I don't have a zillion dollars like Cornyn and have [to] campaign. But I wasn't missing. The Dallas Morning News covered my talk and Cornyn's tracker was there. Both the press and Cornyn knew where I was," he said.

The Dallas Morning News did cover a Jan. 14 appearance by Stockman, calling it a "rare public appearance." The paper also noted, "After a brief Q&A with the audience, Stockman exited the auditorium to mingle. He left without taking questions from a reporter, ducking out of a doorway after spotting someone who turned out to be a Cornyn supporter filming him."

The AP reported on Stockman being MIA last week, writing, "Stockman's staff won't say where he is. They have ignored more than six weeks of emails, telephone messages and social media posts from The Associated Press and other news outlets."

In the meantime, Stockman has received a string of negative stories about his effort to unseat Cornyn in the March 4 Republican primary. His campaign site has been touting endorsements from individuals and organizations that have not actually endorsed his Senate bid, he has lost endorsements from groups that backed his 2012 congressional race and he reportedly failed to report at least nine contributions from political action committees during his 2012 bid.

Through Sept. 30, which is the most recent filing period, Cornyn had $7 million in the bank while Stockman had $32,000, with $163,000 in debt.

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Before You Go

113th Congress Facts
The Numbers(01 of07)
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The House has 233 Republicans and 200 Democrats. Each party should pick up one more seat when two vacancies are filled. Going into the election, the GOP edge was 242-193. Senate Democrats will have a caucus of 55, including two independents, Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Republicans have 45. That's a pickup of two seats for Democrats.(Text via the Associated Press) (credit:Getty Images)
Women(02 of07)
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The House will have 79 women, including 60 Democrats. At the end of the last session, there were 50 Democratic women and 24 Republican women. The new Senate will have 20 women members, an increase of three. That consists of 16 Democrats and four Republicans. The last Senate had 12 Democratic women and five Republicans.(Text via the Associated Press) (credit:AP)
Freshmen(03 of07)
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With two vacancies to be filled, the House has 82 freshmen; 47 Democrats and 35 Republicans. As of the end of the last session, 87 of 103 freshmen were Republicans. The Senate will include 14 new faces, with nine Democrats and the independent King. Five are women. New senators include Brian Schatz, who was sworn in on Dec. 27 to fill the seat of the late Hawaii Democrat Daniel Inouye.(Text via the Associated Press)(Pictured at left: Incoming House freshmen of the 113th Congress pose for a group photo on the East steps of the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (credit:AP)
African Americans(04 of07)
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The House will have 40 African-Americans, all Democrats. The number of Democrats is unchanged, although two Republicans will be gone: Allen West, R-Fla., lost his re-election bid, and Tim Scott, R-S.C., was appointed to fill the Senate seat of Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who is retiring. Scott will be the first black lawmaker in the Senate since Roland Burris, who retired in 2010 after filling the Illinois Senate seat of Barack Obama for almost two years.(Text via the Associated Press)(Pictured at left: Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to replace outgoing Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., walks out of the Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012. AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (credit:AP)
Hispanics(05 of07)
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The new House will have 33 Hispanics, with 25 Democrats and eight Republicans. That's up slightly from last year. The Senate will have three Hispanics: Democrat Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Republican Marco Rubio of Florida and Republican freshman Ted Cruz of Texas.(Text via the Associated Press)(Pictured at left: Rep.-elect Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, speaks with members of the media after a news conference with newly elected Democratic House members on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (credit:AP)
Other Minorities(06 of07)
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The new House will have nine Asian Americans, all Democrats. There are two American Indians: Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Ben Lujan, D-N.M.(Text via the Associated Press)(Pictured at left: Sen.-elect, current Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and her husband, Leighton Oshima ride the Senate Subway on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. AP Photo/Harry Hamburg) (credit:AP)
Other Facts(07 of07)
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According to CQ Roll Call newspaper, the average age of House members in the 113th Congress is 57; the average age of senators is 62. It estimates that the House will include some 277 Protestants and Catholics, 22 Jews, two Muslims and two Buddhists. The Senate will have 80 Protestants and Catholics and 10 Jews. The House will have its first Hindu, Rep.Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii. Senate freshman Mazie Hirono, also of Hawaii, will be the Senate's only Buddhist and its first Asian American woman. Also for the first time, white men will be a minority among House Democrats.(Text via the Associated Press)Pictured at left: Rep.-elect Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii is seen on stage during a news conference with newly elected Democratic House members, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (credit:AP)
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