Residency questions threaten to drag down GOP Senate nominees – Washington Examiner
Republican Senate candidates are currently facing scrutiny over their residency, with accusations from Democrats labeling them as affluent outsiders with minimal connections to the battleground states where they are campaigning. A prime example is Michigan’s Republican Senate nominee, Mike Rogers, who moved to Florida after leaving Congress and is now registered to vote at a home in Michigan, which he does not yet occupy. The Michigan Democratic Party has labeled this situation a “bombshell,” alleging that Rogers is misleading voters about his true residence.
Other GOP candidates across key states are likewise facing criticism regarding their residency. In Pennsylvania, Republican nominee Dave McCormick, who previously lived in Connecticut, emphasizes his long-standing ties to the state to counter claims made by his Democratic opponent, Senator Bob Casey. Additionally, Wisconsin’s Eric Hovde, a wealthy businessman with roots in California, is under fire for his financial status, despite having significant ties to Wisconsin. The ongoing questions surrounding residency may impact the competitiveness of the Senate races in these crucial states, where control of the chamber could potentially shift from Democratic to Republican hands.
Residency questions threaten to drag down GOP Senate nominees
Republican Senate hopefuls are facing questions over their residencies, including accusations from Democrats of being wealthy carpetbaggers with few ties to the battleground states where they are running.
Any one Senate race in more than a half-dozen states could flip the balance of the chamber from blue to red.
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The latest episode centers on Michigan Republican Senate nominee and former Rep. Mike Rogers, who moved to Florida after his stint in Congress ended in 2015. He does not reside in the White Lake Township, Michigan, home where he is registered to vote, the Detroit Free Press reported.
“His home is fully built, simply awaiting final utility installation,” a Rogers campaign spokesperson told the outlet. “Once that is finally complete, he and his wife will move in immediately and look forward to spending their lives in this community near their family.”
The Michigan Democratic Party touted the revelation as a “bombshell.”
“After he abandoned Michigan to walk through the revolving door at the expense of Michiganders, Mike Rogers is back to run for Senate, but he has been lying about where he lives,” state party spokeswoman Sam Chan said in a statement. “Rogers is trying to fool voters, and his campaign owes Michiganders answers about where he actually lives.”
The Senate race in the Great Lakes State to replace retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is a toss-up. Rogers faces Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
GOP candidates in at least three other key states that could decide Senate control have also faced questions or criticism about their residencies.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) tried to make Republican nominee Dave McCormick’s residency and business record an issue at a debate last week. The former hedge fund CEO used to live in Connecticut but has emphasized his long ties to Pennsylvania in a race that “leans Democrat.”
“I’m a seventh-generation Pennsylvanian,” McCormick said at the debate. “I grew up in Bloomsburg, was born in Washington County. I went away to West Point, served in the military for nine years, came back to Pittsburgh, created thousands of jobs, or helped create thousands of jobs, as one of many people and a team. So, listen, I spent the majority of my life in Pennsylvania.”
Republican businessman Eric Hovde, a wealthy California banker, is running to unseat Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) in Wisconsin. He owns a real estate company in Madison, Wisconsin, was born and raised in the state, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and lost a 2012 GOP Senate primary there.
Still, Democrats have sought to capitalize on his stature as a wealthy owner of a nearly $3 billion California bank with a multimillion-dollar Laguna Beach home. The state Democratic Party’s opposition website is titled “Hovde for California.”
Baldwin has faced residency questions of her own over a place in Washington, D.C., that she owns with her longtime partner, a private wealth adviser for Morgan Stanley. Hovde has also accused her of ethical improprieties and enriching herself by using insider government information and her partner’s career in finances, which Baldwin has called a “complete lie.”
The race “leans Democrat,” according to nonpartisan election forecasters, as Baldwin seeks a third term.
The most vulnerable race on the Senate map this November is in Montana between Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Republican nominee Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL. Tester asserted in a debate that Sheehy was “part of the problem” of wealthy newcomers driving up real estate costs in Big Sky Country.
Sheehy is a Minnesota native who moved to Montana in 2014 and has painted himself as a political outsider. He founded the aerial firefighting company Bridger Aerospace.
Sheehy is favored slightly with a “leans Republican” rating in a state former President Donald Trump captured by 16 percentage points in 2020.
But Republican Senate candidates in these and other battleground states trail Trump in the polls by several points, deficits that, in most cases, are causing Democrats to remain ahead of their GOP challengers.
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