Larry Pressler
No matter how many times we've seen this story before, there's always one person it matters for most: the candidate in question. So while it may feel like old news to you, the fact that Republican-turned-independent Larry Pressler has actually claimed Washington, DC, as his "principal residence" while running for Senate in South Dakota is certainly going to sting him.
In fact, by making that claim, Pressler and his wife earn a tax credit that reduces their property's value by over $70,000 before their property tax liability is computed. Nice tax break if you can get it! And Pressler easily can, since he admitted to Politico that he's lived in Washington ever since he lost his bid for re-election to the Senate in 1996, almost two decades ago. Pressler still insists he's remained a South Dakota voter, but that sure seems awkward when he's saying that Foggy Bottom is his "principal" residence.
So why doesn't Pressler own a home in what's supposedly his home state?
He said he is not "a rich man and cannot afford to buy more than one house."
Except, as Politico notes in the very next line, he's worth at least $847,000; median household net worth in the U.S.
is $81,200, so Pressler's 10 times richer than the average American. What's more, the median home price in South Dakota
is $124,000, less than a fifth of what Pressler paid for his fancy D.C. digs back in 2003 (property that's undoubtedly worth more now).
It gets even more awkward from there. It's not quite clear where Pressler sets down his tenuous roots when he does visit South Dakota, though Politico says he "has stayed" in Humboldt, where he says he owns an "interest" in a family farm. But does he actually spend nights on the farm? Or is it too "rustic," like Dick Lugar's was? Perhaps he just rents out time in a neighbor's La-Z-Boy, like our good buddy Pat Roberts in Kansas?
Actually, Pressler admits, he rents an apartment in Sioux Falls, which he notes is close to the airport (!) and his campaign office. In other words, he has one foot out the door at all times. The next question for an enterprising reporter to ask: How many days has Pressler actually spent in South Dakota in the last two years? Whatever the answer, it won't look good.
Fortunately, Democrats have a real option for change in South Dakota. Rick Weiland's visited all 311 towns in the state twice, and no one doubts his rock-solid ties to his home state. He's a true prairie progressive, and he has a great chance to pull off an upset.
Please give $3 to elect a real South Dakotan—and a real progressive—to the Senate.
Voting by mail is convenient, easy, and defeats the best of the GOP's voter suppression efforts. Sign up here to check eligibility and vote by mail, then get your friends, family, and coworkers to sign up as well.
So let's help send a genuine guy like Weiland to Washington—and not some phony like Pressler, who's already there.
Sat Oct 11, 2014 at 11:31 AM PT: Politico added a new detail to their story after publication:
But Pressler has also been an owner of two apartments in Manhattan. He currently owns on East 57th Street between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue. He bought that unit in 2008 for $655,000, and took out a $200,000 mortgage, according to New York City property records. He previously owned an apartment in the Trump Parc on Central Park South, the swank street that runs the length of the south end of the legendary park. He bought that in 2006 for $360,000, and sold it for $435,000 in 2007. He didn’t respond to an email seeking comment about the New York apartment.
Those prices seem strikingly low for prime Manhattan real estate at the peak of the market, but nevertheless, it undermines Pressler's claim that he couldn't afford a second home. It seems like he could afford one anywhere
but South Dakota.