Stranger in a Strange State

Examines why some politicians take the drastic step of becoming a carpetbagger and how that shapes their campaigns and chances for victory.
Candidates normally run for office in the places where they live. Occasionally, however, a politician will run as a carpetbagger—someone who moves to a new state for the express purpose of running, or who runs in one state after holding office in another. Stranger in a Strange State examines what makes some politicians take this drastic step and how that shapes their campaigns and chances for victory. Focusing on races for the US Senate from 1964 forward, Christopher J. Galdieri analyzes the campaigns of nine carpetbaggers, including nationally known figures such as Robert F. Kennedy and Hillary Rodham Clinton and less well-known candidates like Elizabeth Cheney and Scott Brown. These case studies draw on archival research, contemporaneous accounts of each campaign, and scholarship on campaigns and representation. While the record reveals that it generally takes national political stature for a carpetbagger to win an election, some recent campaigns suggest that in today’s polarized political era, both politicians and state political parties might want to be more open to the prospect of carpetbagging.
Christopher J. Galdieri is Associate Professor of Politics at Saint Anselm College. He is the coeditor (with Jennifer C. Lucas and Tauna S. Sisco) of several books, including Conventional Wisdom, Parties, and Broken Barriers in the 2016 Election; The Role of Twitter in the 2016 US Election; Political Communication & Strategy: Consequences of the 2014 Midterm Elections; and Races, Reforms, & Policy: Implications of the 2014 Midterm Elections.