Hillary Clinton and her super PACs might rake in millions from Wall Street, but New York cannot be considered her “home state.”
With the Empire State primary just a couple of weeks away, political pundits are starting to wonder whether Clinton will be able to win the state where she maintains a residence.
The Hill ran an article on Saturday titled “Clinton seeks to avoid loss in home state NY.” This was a week after Clinton’s rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, challenged the Democratic frontrunner to a debate in her “home state.” And Monday morning, MSNBC fill-in host Steve Kornacki referred to Clinton’s 10-point lead in “her home state.” NBC correspondent Kasie Hunt, was more accurate later in the program, referring to New York as Clinton’s “adopted home turf.”
New York is not Clinton’s “home state,” it’s just where she maintains an address. She wasn’t born there, she didn’t grow up there, and she never lived there until after she and her husband Bill left the White House. Even then, she only moved there because Bill had the connections to help her mount a senate campaign (which she won) that could lead to a presidential campaign.
It was a point of contention former New York City Major Rudy Giuliani’s senate campaign used against Clinton during the 2000 election. The director of his senate exploratory campaign, Bruce Teitelbaum, had said New York citizens “expressed their concern” with Clinton moving in to the state just to run for the Senate.
“Many people have told us there’s a lack of confidence with someone who knows nothing about the state and who has never lived in the state, and whether a person like that has an understanding of the needs of the people of the state of New York,” Teitelbaum said. Has she learned much about New York since then? It’s difficult to say. But it’s telling that after her 2000 victory, the Clintons bought a home in Washington, D.C., where she has spent much of the last 16 years.
Sanders actually has more of a case to call New York his home state, since he was born there, grew up there and returned there after college before eventually moving to Vermont because he was “captivated by rural life.” Sanders was 27 or so when he moved to Vermont, meaning he’s spent around 47 years in the Green Mountain State. And he didn’t move there because he was looking to bolster his resume, but because he wanted to live there.
The same cannot be said of Clinton. She was born in Illinois, went to college in Massachusetts and law school in Connecticut. After failing the D.C. bar exam, she married Bill and moved to Arkansas, where she lived until the pair moved into the White House. She has had the New York address for only 16 years, or about 23 percent of her life. But again, she has that address only because she wanted to run for senate in order to run for the White House.
Sanders has lived in Vermont for 63 percent of his life, and he lives there because he feels connected. It’s difficult to see how Clinton can say the same.
I get that people move, and that the term “home state” is somewhat subjective. I myself have lived in eight states and don’t even know which one to consider my “home state.” If “home state” means “where I was born” then the answer is Oregon. If it’s where I spent my childhood: Florida. If it’s where I graduated high school: Massachusetts. College: Florida. Where I moved to D.C. from: Pennsylvania. Where I live now: Undisclosed. But I wouldn’t count where I live now as my “home state” because I haven’t spent a majority of my life there and only moved here when I was in my early 20s.
It seems Clinton would have moved anywhere if she could have mounted a successful Senate bid there. New York provided her a simple path forward with help from her and her husband’s friends.
There’s no question that GOP front-runner Donald Trump’s home state is New York. He was born there, grew up there, currently lives there and has built his fortune there. But Clinton? She’s just a carpetbagger.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
