“Being back home is helpful to knowing what it is voters want you to be doing in Washington,” said Jonathan Allen with “Congressional Quarterly”.

He said for Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-North Carolina, that could be a deal breaker this election.

“Should voters care if their incumbent is traveling home a lot or not?” asked Eyewitness News reporter Megan Hughes.

“I don't know whether voters should care whether their senator comes home or not, but they certainly do. We've certainly seen a lot of cases in the past where representatives or senators who don't make it home a lot have been punished by voters,” Allen said.

Voters that Eyewitness News talked to have mixed opinions. Some think Dole’s home is the Watergate Hotel in Washington, where she's lived for decades.

“I know she was from Salisbury, but her primary residence is in D.C. and Kansas with her husband,” one voter said.

But her supporters said her hometown is Salisbury and she shouldn't be criticized for her time spent in Washington.

“Mrs. Dole's got a job to do for us in Washington, and as long as she is up there looking after us back here in North Carolina, that's where her job is,” said voter Buddy Hemric.

Dole’s opponent Kay Hagan has made it a point to argue Dole is an out-of-towner.

“She's been in Washington over 40 years. When Jesse Helms announced his retirement and was leaving his seat, it was two days after that Elizabeth Dole registered to vote in North Carolina, having voted in Kansas for 25 years. She ran for president as a citizen of Kansas,” Hagan said.

In a one-on-one interview, Eyewitness News asked Dole about one of the big accusations she's facing this race.

“Is Sen. Dole from here, is she from North Carolina? Isn't that an interesting one? My family goes back from signing the Mecklenberg Declaration of Independence. I grew up in Salisbury. I went to the public schools in Salisbury. I went to Duke University. I was on the board for 11 years,” she said.

Eyewitness News wanted to find out how often Dole headed home during her term as senator. Every senator's office is required to report office expenses, including travel. Eyewitness News went to the Senate library and made copies of the records for all four Carolina senators from the time they got into office until May of this year and tallied their trips.

The research showed North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr traveling to North Carolina for work an average of 35 times a year, South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham, 33 trips, South Carolina Sen. Jim Demint, 35, and Dole, eight.

Eyewitness News shared the results with Dole.

“This is showing eight trips a year. Do you think it's more than that?” Hughes asked.

"It's much more than that, yes indeed. I'm there every weekend and throughout all the recess,” Dole said.

Eyewitness News asked her office for a complete list of her trips to the state, but they couldn't provide one. They did provide a list of events she's attended in the state with years but no dates, and media advisories that would add about three trips to dole's average per year.

But Dole insists it's more than that.

“I'm there constantly,” she said.

Dole's office spokeswoman said her office doesn’t keep records of the senator’s personal travel because she pays for that herself. They said she has visited every county in the state.