On CNN Wednesday, reporter Eva McKend outlined how Republican races all over the country are being defined by candidates who are moving to new states, or back to states after not having lived there for years, to run for office — the most high-profile example being talk show host Dr. Oz moving from New Jersey to run in Pennsylvania.
"St. Anselm College Professor Christopher Galdieri, who wrote the book on carpetbagging, says candidates parachuting into states they haven't lived in for years is not nearly as much of a deal-breaker for voters as it was decades ago," said McKend. "Residency isn't always as important as we might expect it to be in large part because our politics are so polarized," said Galdieri in the clip.
"The potency of the carpetbagger charges could face several tests in next year's midterm elections," said McKend. "In Georgia, Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker recently returned to his home state from Texas. Republican Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka is facing questions about how long she's lived in Alaska. Former Trump-era Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has faced repeated attacks he no longer fully lives in Montana, where he is competing for a House seat."
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There is also a Democrat in the mix, noted McKend — New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who is seeking the governorship of Oregon.
"Once upon a time, if you were a carpetbagger candidate for office, you could expect to do pretty badly," said Galdieri. "These days, you are not necessarily going to win as a carpetbagger, but if you can win your party's nomination, people who belong to that party are probably going to vote for you simply because you are the representative of their party."
Watch below:
Eva McKend reports on carpetbagging Republican candidateswww.youtube.com
