Spokesman: Report That Lamar Alexander Voted in Dem Primary Is 'Nonsense'

A spokesman for Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) told Breitbart News on Thursday that a report suggesting he voted in the Democratic primaries in 2012 in Tennessee is inaccurate.

“This is complete nonsense,” Alexander’s spokesman, Jim Jeffries, said in an email. “In 2012, Sen. Alexander proudly voted in the Republican primary in Blount County for Sen. Bob Corker for re-election.”

Michael Lotfi of The Washington Times claimed on Thursday that, according to “official state voter roll calls,” Alexander had “voted in the 2012 Tennessee Democratic Primary.”

“The label is assigned via the NBEC Hard Partisan Indicator,” Lotfi wrote. “Although it is not clear who Alexander voted for in the democratic primary, the official record shows Alexander’s unique voter ID.”

The Tennessean cast doubt on Lotfi’s report as well, quoting state officials saying it is untrue. “The election administrator in Blount County, where Alexander resides, said Thursday morning that her records show he’s voted ‘straight R,'” the Tennessean wrote. “A spokesman for the Secretary of State’s office said their records also show Alexander has voted in Republican primaries since at least 1994, the farthest back their staffers researched.”

Alexander currently faces a primary challenge in Tennessee from Tea Partier and state Rep. Joe Carr. Carr has been steadily gaining momentum in the race, and given that the GOP primary is not until August 2014, he has plenty of time to close the gap if he can raise the funds and build the base and ground game necessary to beat Alexander.

Lotfi’s story has since been scrubbed from The Washington Times. On his author page, a brief message appears under the link to his story on Alexander that states: “The Washington Times has removed from its Communities website a story on Sen. Lamar Alexander’s voting record due concerns about its accuracy.”