Democrats are pinning their hopes of retaining a Senate majority on voters’ hatred of the so-called “carpetbaggers.”
As Senate Democrats fight to keep the Senate For many vulnerable candidates looking to avoid losing tough races in decisive states across the country, their campaign arms and state parties are focusing more on the qualities and biographies of Republican candidates than on policies.
“This is an old direction for campaigns, but it’s not always effective,” said Republican strategist Doug Heye. “Given the huge concerns about rising prices, the border and the general direction of the country, it may be a hard one to overcome.”
Democrats hope that carpetbagging claims against Republican candidates can save their vulnerable incumbents in swing states, such as Senators Jon Tester (left) and Bob Casey (right). (Getty Images)
Historically, carpetbaggers were Northerners who traveled to the South with the aim of profiting from the impoverished region during the Reconstruction era following the Civil War. In modern politics, it refers to politicians who move to a new region to run for office.
Five Democratic senators are embroiled in highly competitive re-election battles in Ohio, Montana, Nevada, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, as the party faces a uniquely disadvantageous Senate election map.
“The Senate Republicans’ recruiting list is filled with people who know nothing about the states they’re running in, and candidates who bring enough financial scandals and baggage to fill a bank coffer,” Tommy Garcia, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), said in a statement earlier this year.
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Senators Jon Tester, Jacky Rosen, Sherrod Brown, Tammy Baldwin, Bob Casey (Getty Images: Anna Moneymaker, Drew Angerer, Ethan Miller, Sarah Silbiger)
“After the Democrats successfully used this attack against Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania in the last election, it has, in my opinion, become a bit of a ‘prevalent’ type of attack, although it’s not a new tactic either,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the Sabato Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
National and state-level Democratic Party units have repeated this argument, particularly in reference to the Republican Senate candidate in Montana, Former Navy SEAL Tim SheehyAlso included is Pennsylvania Republican candidate Dave McCormick.
“Democrats can’t stand by their unwavering support for Joe Biden’s agenda of reckless spending, open borders, and chaos around the world, so they are lying about our candidates and refusing to discuss the burning issues facing the American people,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRCS) spokesman Mike Berg said in a statement.
Montana may see one of the closest Senate races of this cycle between Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Sheehy, and Sheehy’s campaign has fully embraced the term “carpetbagger” to describe his opponent. The state’s Democratic Party has likewise taken up the attack.
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After the state’s primary last week, Tester’s campaign furthered his accusation that Sheehy was “trying to buy Montana” during a TV interview, while also emphasizing his roots.
“I think that’s a very powerful argument in Montana,” said Democratic strategist Brad Bannon.
Sheehy is originally from Minnesota and moved to Montana in 2014 after starting his company there.
“Let’s face it, Tester is trying to reach a conservative audience,” Bannon said, adding that references to his generational roots are “conservative” in nature.
Senator Jon Tester, left, and Republican Montana Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, right. (Kevin Dietsch/Lewis Johns)
“There’s an insider versus outsider element in Montana politics, in part because there are so many newcomers from other places,” Kondik said.
Sheehy’s campaign did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.
McCormick, who is running for Senate again as a Republican in 2022 after seeking the GOP nod, was notably born and raised in Pennsylvania, having also started his business in the state. The carpetbagger claims began when it was reported that he also owns a home in Connecticut in addition to his Pittsburgh property.
“I think it’s effective in Pennsylvania, too, because kc name is like this “It’s synonymous with Pennsylvania, like the cheesesteak is synonymous with Philadelphia,” Bannon said, citing the family of Democratic Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey and its long history in state politics.
Kondik commented, “In the industrial North, the percentage of residents born in the state is higher than in the Sun Belt. So perhaps these attacks have more resonance – or at least Democrats hope they will have more resonance – because of some local peculiarities as well.”
“Pennsylvanians from across the Commonwealth are joining Dave’s movement to send a 7th-generation Pennsylvanian, combat veteran, West Point graduate, and PA job creator to the Senate to provide new leadership and fresh ideas,” McCormick campaign spokeswoman Elizabeth Gregory said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
McCormick has previously run for the Republican nomination in 2022. (Jeff Swenson/Getty Images)
He said, “Career politician and habitual liar Bob Casey votes for Joe Biden’s failed agenda 98% of the time, fueling a border crisis that has killed over 4,000 Pennsylvanians from fentanyl, violent crime, record inflation, and deregulation that is killing the Commonwealth’s energy sector. On November 5th, Pennsylvania will retire blank-suit Bob Casey and send Dave McCormick to the Senate.”
According to Republican strategist Erin Perrin, “Democrats know they’re struggling to connect with voters on policy positions, as polls show they’re watered down on top voter concerns like immigration and the economy.” This forces the party to “make an emotional appeal to voters, arguing that they can represent them because they’re one of them,” she said.
Bannon claimed that Democrats’ focus on these carpetbagging allegations is motivated by the independent voters they’re going after. He explained, “Independents who have two seats up for grabs are more likely to focus on personal attributes in the final stages of an election than voters who have already made up their minds.”
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Kondik asserted that this strategy “advances a larger, familiar narrative, in which Democrats accuse Republicans of being wealthy and insensitive. It’s one part of a larger argument.”
But according to Perrin, “domestic emotional appeals are not usually a winning strategy in a general election, because voters come every day to Election Day to tell us what matters most to them, not just where they come from.”
