"I don't think I can see a vote that is inconsistent with those principles," Cannon said. "There have been some tough votes that I have made that you have to balance things on, but I am very comfortable voting any vote that I have ever made."

When Cannon got to Congress, he said he realized that the only things that mattered were "your integrity and your relationships.

"So I worked very, very hard to develop relationships of trust," Cannon said. "This is a complicated place with lots of interests. I think I do fairly well in maintaining relationships."

Cannon credits that trust as the reason he has been able to work with Democrats on legislation — something vital to getting things done in the House, especially with the Democrats in the majority. While he may not agree with some of his colleagues on all things, he says he knows how to home in on their common interests to get things done.

"Today it is a lot easier for me to get a bill passed," Cannon said.

Cannon is hoping he can count on those relationships to get bills finished this session of Congress, including one designed to speed up the development of oil shale, a Utah natural resource with anticipated big potential in domestic oil production. He also has a great interest in making technology available to all, be it high-speed Internet access to impoverished countries to help grow their economies or keeping tabs on the controversial patent reform bill that would affect every industry from software manufacturers to drug companies.

Still, his voting record — particularly missed votes — is an element his challenger Chaffetz likes to point to as a reason Cannon should be replaced.

In a KUED debate earlier this month, Chaffetz pointed out that Cannon missed a vote on Dec. 15, 2005, on an "important" immigration matter, but the lawmaker had voted on the bill just before and the bill just after.

The vote in question was on an amendment to a bill offered by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. that involved building fences and other physical infrastructures to keep out illegal immigrants. The amendment passed 260 to 159, with 14 members, including Cannon, absent from the vote.

Cannon said he remembers missing the vote, and while he said "it was one of the ones I didn't want to miss" he could not remember specifically why he missed it. He emphasized, however, that this was one vote among numerous immigration votes where he has cast according to his conservative beliefs.

Cannon said when members get to the House floor, especially during a series of votes, a lot of business goes on in addition to actually casting the votes.