Congressman Wesley Hunt defends missing House votes, says large number of undecided voters bodes well for him in GOP primary for Texas Senate

Republican Congressman Wesley Hunt rejected criticism of his missed votes in the House as he campaigns in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate. 

In an interview on Wednesday afternoon with CBS News Texas, Hunt said, "The people of Texas want a new senator, and it is my job to make sure that the people of Texas know that that person is going to be me. I have now answered hundreds of questions on the campaign trail, and do you know how many questions I've got about missed votes? Zero. Not a single voter has asked me about this issue."

His comments came before a key vote he returned to Washington, D.C., to cast that helped Republicans narrowly defeat a resolution backed by Democrats that would have blocked President Trump from conducting further military operations in Venezuela. On January 3, the U.S. military successfully captured that nation's president, Nicolas Maduro, who will stand trial on federal drug trafficking charges in New York City. 

Republican leaders in the House have urged their members to be in Washington to vote because of the chamber's razor-thin majority. Sen. John Cornyn's campaign has set up a website tracking Hunt's missed votes in the House. In an interview with CBS News Texas on Thursday, Cornyn criticized Hunt's voting record. "It's shameful. I can't believe he has the temerity to say that showing up for work doesn't matter. You can't claim to be pro-Trump and not show up for work."

As for Hunt, he said passing President Trump's agenda is not a problem in the House but in the Senate. When asked during the interview how he can codify the President's agenda if he is not at the Capitol to vote, Hunt told CBS News Texas, "A lot of President Trump's agenda is being held up in the Senate. It's really interesting to see just how informed voters are here in Texas. What they do know is that this filibuster has been an issue. It's been an issue for months, and that's what's been holding up President Trump's agenda. It's actually in the Senate. I am running for the Senate to ensure that we can get President Trump's agenda through for the last two years of the Trump presidency."

Hunt said he is encouraged by two recent independent polls showing a large number of Republican voters remain undecided in the upcoming March 3 primary. "When there are 30% undecided and you have two men that have ubiquitous name ID that have been on the ballot for decades, and yet there's still 30% that are undecided, that bodes very well for us, a candidate that people are looking for to actually fill that void and fill the rest of that space." 

In a poll this month by Emerson College Polling and Nexstar Media, 29% said they don't know who they will vote for in the upcoming contest. Attorney General Ken Paxton led Cornyn by one percentage point, 27% to 26%, while Hunt trailed with 16%. In a poll last month by co/efficient, 26% were undecided. Cornyn led Paxton by one percentage point, 28% to 27%, and Hunt had 19%. 

When asked if he is approaching a now-or-never moment with about three weeks before early voting begins, Hunt downplayed his third-place showing in both polls. "We've been performing way better. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten in this race," said Hunt. "You would go back to even before the filing deadline, there were public polls that had us in the 20s, at a minimum of 22. So, I know where we're at. We're already in striking distance, and we're doing very well."

Hunt continues to campaign across the state to introduce himself to Republican primary voters. Politico first reported that President Trump has no plans to endorse Sen. Cornyn for now, which was confirmed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota. Hunt said, "I think that's absolutely wonderful news for us."