Where the congressmen are…

Questions about legal residency aren’t something one will often hear in Virginia congressional campaigns. But in the Indiana Senate race, it’s a matter that has some real bite:

Sen. Richard Lugar defended himself during an appearance in Indianapolis on Monday that came days after opponents claimed that he isn’t qualified to run for office because he doesn’t live in the state.

Lugar said two attorneys general have affirmed his position that the Indianapolis address on his Indiana driver’s license is valid, even though he sold that home in 1977.

Lugar said he and his wife sold their house in Indianapolis because the only way they could afford to keep the family together and be part of their sons’ school and after-school activities was to move to Washington, D.C. full time and buy a home there.

“We had a home that we had built in Indianapolis with room for our four boys and our family. It was too expensive, at least for us at that time in our lives, to maintain two houses,” Lugar said. “So we sold the house the following year after we had been elected.”

That this is only an issue now is rather curious. Then again, if the strategy is to make Lugar look like he’s “gone DC-native,” then it’s fair game. Back in 1994, a similar strategy was used against then-Speaker Tom Foley, who had a tenuous residency in Spokane, but had a real (and quite nice) home on Capitol Hill. Then there was George Bush — was he from Maine or Texas? Or Connecticut? And don’t get me started on the many, various and growing list of states Mitt Romney calls home.

One thing that struck me about talking to Newt Gingrich’s surrogates on the trail was how many of them lived in northern Virginia. Bob Livingston — once of Louisiana — lives in Alexandria. Fred Thompson, a one-time Tennessee Senator, lives in McLean, as does Gingrich himself. Even Rick Santorum lives in Great Falls (bonus points for those who also know that Santorum is also a native of Winchester).

While it’s very nice to have all these gentlemen as residents of the commonwealth, it does show how hard it is for some of them to go home again. There’s no mystery to it: they know Washington’s ways the city pays darned well for such knowledge.

And yes — Mr. Lugar, the incumbent Senator from Indiana, is a resident of McLean. Win or lose his re-election bid, his current location is ideal for continuing a career in or around government.

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