Ron DeSantis left House amid Florida campaign. Will Marsha Blackburn follow during Senate run?

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, the Republican nominee for governor in Florida, turned in his resignation from the House, saying he would likely miss the remaining days of this year's congressional session as he campaigned. 

“Under these circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to accept a salary,” he said in his resignation letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan. 

Since July, DeSantis has missed 43 of the 80 votes that have taken place, according to GovTrack, a nonpartisan congressional tracking website. 

But DeSantis has missed fewer votes than U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee's Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate. 

During the same time period, Blackburn has missed 57 of 80 House votes. And like DeSantis, she missed all votes cast in the last week. 

According to Blackburn’s voting record, she has missed 105 of 393 votes this year. That far outpaces any other year since she entered Congress in 2003.

Blackburn's campaign spokeswoman declined comment for this story and referred questions to the congressman's House office. 

Chuck Flint, her chief of staff, declined to answer multiple questions but said, "Congressman Blackburn is an effective legislator with an outstanding record of constituent service."

He did not respond to a question about whether Blackburn was considering resigning from the House. 

Related:Diane Black's missed votes mount as she campaigns for Tennessee governor

As is the case with DeSantis, and U.S. Rep. Diane Black, who skipped out on votes while unsuccessfully seeking the Republican nomination for Tennessee governor, Blackburn's missed votes include perfunctory motions and measures that passed overwhelmingly.

But her missed votes also include a measure that repealed an excise tax on medical devices and another measure that seeks to study the feasibility of creating a national suicide prevention and mental health hotline system. 

Even as she has missed votes, Blackburn has presented a different view to some Tennesseans. 

Marsha Blackburn's missed votes included bills she touted

Speaking to the Future Farmers of America on Monday, Blackburn noted the recent passage of the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018, which advocates say will revolutionize farming. 

"That is going to put together this partnership between agriculture and technology to make certain that your generation...would have the abilities and the resources that you need to achieve better yields," she said. 

But Blackburn did not vote on the bill, which came up in July, just days after Vice President Mike Pence joined her in Chattanooga for a campaign event and one day before the congressman joined First Lady Melania Trump for an event in Nashville. 

The agriculture legislation, which along with the suicide hotline measure went through the committee Blackburn chairs, passed 378-4 in the House. 

More:Pence touts conservative credentials of Blackburn, Black

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Blackburn's comments about the agriculture legislation are hardly isolated. 

Last month, when President Donald Trump signed the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 into law, she touted the legislation on social media. 

Blackburn did not vote on the defense authorization legislation, which passed 359-54 in the House, due to an unforeseen obligation.

Blackburn's opponent, former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, declined to weigh in on the missed votes. 

"She's a big girl. She can make those decisions for herself as to what she considers her responsibilities to be," he said when asked Tuesday. 

Mark Brown, a Tennessee Democratic Party communications aide, criticized Blackburn, saying, "It's the height of DC arrogance that she thinks Tennessee voters won't know she doesn't bother to show up for the job they elected her to do and that they'll give her a promotion on top of it."

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.