Football star-turned-candidate has never voted
As a football star at Mizzou, Brock Olivo led the team to its first bowl game in over a decade. But there is one place that he never reached: the ballot box.
Public records show Olivo, who is now running for Congress, has never voted in an election, in Missouri or elsewhere.
Olivo, a fan favorite when he played for the Tigers from 1994-97, acknowledged Monday that he has not cast a single ballot since becoming eligible more than a dozen years ago.
“I got caught up in the wave of apathy that has affected many of my generation,” Olivo, 31, said. “I’m the first to admit that I was wrong for not voting.”
Olivo, a Republican, launched his bid earlier this month to represent Missouri’s 9th Congressional District, which stretches from Columbia to Lake Saint Louis. He has joined a crowded crop of candidates vying to replace U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof, who entered the race for governor after Republican incumbent Matt Blunt’s abrupt decision not to seek a second term.
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His indifference, Olivo says, stemmed from dissatisfaction with political leaders.
“I was a little frustrated with the constant rhetoric and the broken promises,” he said.
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Even so, Olivo — one of only a handful of Missouri football players to get his number retired — enters the congressional race with immediate advantages: instant name recognition and an admiring fan base.
How ironic it would be if Olivo lost because all those football fans under 30 were too apathetic about his campaign promises to go out and vote for him.