[EL] winning in Congress but not living in the district

[Rob Richie]

Running for a district one doesn't live in initially is a relatively common
phenomenon, especially in a post-redistricting year. Here is a link to a
story from the Baltimore Sun from last month that indicate at least eight
US House candidates in Maryland's congressional primaries this April don't
have a residence in the district where they're running -- a product tied in
large part to a particularly "creative" new map drawn last year.
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-01-15/news/bs-md-candidates-address-20120115_1_candidate-filings-8th-district-1st-district


To me, suggesting it matters whether one lives in a district of some
700,000 people is an attempt to maintain the general fiction that
single-member districts have any real meaningful as units of representation
despite the fact that we know that districts rarely are drawn with
community coherence utmost in mind. II's just like no one seems to complain
that the Winnipeg Jets (in Canada) are contending for the "Southeastern
Division" in the National Hockey League, while the Nashville Predators are
in the "Central Division". It's just setting up rules that are convenient.

Candidates and certainly winners of course also can establish temporary
residences quickly -- I'm sure Michele Bachmann will find a way in
Minnesota, just a Hillary Clinton did in shifting to New York State when
she won her US Senate seat in 2006.

As a related aside, the 1842 federal mandate to use single-member districts
was controversial when first passed (John Tyler signed it under protest,
and a couple states successfully defied it that year) and it has come and
gone over the years. It wasn't in place for almost four decades in the 20th
century -- until the 1967 restoration of the mandate that forced New Mexico
and Hawaii to go from at-large elections to districts. We have some history
posted here:
http://archive.fairvote.org/library/history/flores/index.html

- Rob Richie


On Sun, Feb 26, 2012 at 8:51 AM, David A. Schultz
<dschultz at gw.hamline.edu>wrote:

> Can anyone give me an example of any individual successfully winning a
> seat in Congress yet not living within that district?  In the alternative,
> does anyone have examples of individuals running for Congress while living
> outside of it borders?
>
> To the best of my knowledge I cannot find an example dating all the way
> back to 1842 when Congress mandated single-member districts for Congress.
>
> Thank you.
> ****
> David Schultz, Professor
> Editor, Journal of Public Affairs Education (JPAE)
> Hamline University
> School of Business
> 570 Asbury Street
> Suite 308
> St. Paul, Minnesota 55104
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>
>
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