More than 110 U.S. towns and cities can claim that a 2020 presidential candidate has put down roots — or at least a security deposit — within its borders, according to Washington Post research and (most of) their campaigns.
Where the candidates have lived
Number of candidates
1
2-5
6-14
Cambridge, Mass.
New York
San Francisco
Chicago
Denver
Washington
Los
Angeles
Houston
Where the candidates have lived
Number of candidates
1
2-5
6-14
Cambridge, Mass.
New York
San Francisco
Chicago
Denver
Washington
Los
Angeles
Houston
Where the candidates have lived
Number of candidates
1
2-5
6-14
Wash.
Cambridge, Mass.
Mont.
Minn.
Ore.
N.Y.
Wis.
Mich.
New York
Iowa
Pa.
Chicago
Ohio
San Francisco
Denver
Ind.
Stanford
Ill.
Calif.
Colo.
Washington
Va.
Claremont
Okla.
Ariz.
Los
Angeles
N.M.
Texas
Austin
Houston
Fla.
Hawaii
Where the candidates have lived
Number of candidates
1
2-5
6-14
Wash.
Cambridge, Mass.
8 candidates
Mont.
Minn.
Ore.
N.Y.
Wis.
Mich.
Iowa
Pa.
New York
11 candidates
Chicago
Ohio
San Francisco
Denver
Ill.
Ind.
Stanford
Washington
14 candidates
Calif.
Colo.
Va.
Claremont
Okla.
Ariz.
Los Angeles
N.M.
Texas
Austin
Houston
Fla.
Hawaii
On average, the 24 Democratic candidates and two Republicans, including President Trump, have lived in four states each (including the District). But there are 20 states that not one candidate has called home.
Where we live helps shape who we become, which is why these details are interesting when we’re talking about people who want to lead the country. But does geography help a candidate get elected? We have experts who will tell you, but first, let’s look at where these folks come from.
They know the Northeast really well
If you’re throwing darts at a U.S. map hoping to hit a candidate’s home turf, aim high and to the right.
Everyone except Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has at some point resided in the corridor from Virginia to the southern border of Maine. Thirteen candidates were born there, 21 went to college there — 16 at Ivy League schools — and 11 live there now.
[Quiz: How well do you know the presidential candidates?]
Not surprisingly for a group of politicians, 19 of these people have lived in the D.C. area, the most of any locale, and that does not even include temporary residences where senators and representatives stay when Congress is in session. Twelve candidates have at some point lived in New York City.
The West Coast is well-represented also, with a senator (Kamala D. Harris of California) and governor (Inslee) in the hunt along with two longtime California residents, activist Tom Steyer and self-help author Marianne Williamson. Eight candidates got at least part of their college education there. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who has lived most of her life in Hawaii, puts the far, far West Coast on the board.
Birthplace
College
Current residence
Kamala Harris
Oakland
Los Angeles
Oakland, Calif.
Champaign, Ill.
Evanston, Ill.
Madison, Wis.
Berkeley, Calif.
Montreal
Washington
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Jay Inslee
Seattle
Olympia, Wash.
Seattle
Stanford, Calif.
Salem, Ore.
Selah, Wash.
Bainbridge Island,
Wash.
Olympia, Wash.
Tom Steyer
New York
San Francisco
New York
Exeter, N.H.
New Haven, Conn.
Stanford, Calif.
San Francisco
Tulsi Gabbard
Honolulu
Leloaloa,
American Samoa
Honolulu
Iraq
Washington
Kuwait
Birthplace
College
Current residence
Kamala Harris
Oakland
Los Angeles
Oakland, Calif.
Champaign, Ill.
Evanston, Ill.
Madison, Wis.
Berkeley, Calif.
Montreal
Washington
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Jay Inslee
Seattle
Olympia, Wash.
Seattle
Stanford, Calif.
Salem, Ore.
Selah, Wash.
Bainbridge Island,
Wash.
Olympia, Wash.
Tom Steyer
New York
San Francisco
New York
Exeter, N.H.
New Haven, Conn.
Stanford, Calif.
San Francisco
Tulsi Gabbard
Honolulu
Leloaloa,
American Samoa
Honolulu
Iraq
Washington
Kuwait
600
Birthplace
College
Current residence
Jay Inslee
Kamala Harris
Seattle
Olympia, Wash.
Oakland
Los Angeles
Seattle
Stanford, Calif.
Salem, Ore.
Selah, Wash.
Bainbridge Island,
Wash.
Olympia, Wash.
Oakland, Calif.
Champaign, Ill.
Evanston, Ill.
Madison, Wis.
Berkeley, Calif.
Montreal
Washington
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Tulsi Gabbard
Tom Steyer
New York
San Francisco
Honolulu
Leloaloa,
American Samoa
Honolulu
Iraq
Washington
Kuwait
New York
Exeter, N.H.
New Haven, Conn.
Stanford, Calif.
San Francisco
After the coasts, the map dots get fewer and farther between. But at least one candidate has spent enough time in each major region of the country to qualify as “from there,” with one big exception: the Deep South.
No current candidate has lived in any state east of Texas, north of Florida and south of the D.C. metro area, other than former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke’s two high school years in a boarding school in north-central Virginia and retired Adm. Joe Sestak’s Navy assignment in Norfolk — neither of which is the Deep South.
A few crisscrossed the country
Candidates are blanketing Iowa ahead of the first 2020 caucuses, but only self-help author Marianne Williamson can, even tenuously, claim to be home. By signing a condo lease this spring, she officially added Des Moines to her long list of hometowns. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, however, often reminds Iowans that she’s “the senator next door,” which also happens to be the title of her memoir.
Marianne Williamson
Des Moines
Houston
Houston
Bellaire, Tex.
Claremont, Calif.
Albuquerque
Austin
New York
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Birmingham, Mich.
Grosse Pointe, Mich.
Des Moines
Marianne Williamson
Des Moines
Houston
Houston
Bellaire, Tex.
Claremont, Calif.
Albuquerque
Austin
New York
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Birmingham, Mich.
Grosse Pointe, Mich.
Des Moines
Williamson appears to have made more cross-country moves than anyone other than Sestak, who lived pretty much everywhere that has water during his 31-year Navy career. (Her campaign was one of six that did not respond to repeated fact-checking requests.)
Williamson grew up in Texas, attended college in California and lived in a geodesic dome while taking classes at the University of New Mexico. She has said she then went to Austin, but spent most of her 20s in “a nomadic existence” moving between San Francisco and New York, where she hoped to be a cabaret singer. She found her groove in Los Angeles as a spiritual mentor and eventually as an author and activist. She raised her daughter in the Detroit suburbs before returning to California and then New York.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren moved back and forth as well, going from her childhood in Oklahoma to D.C.’s George Washington University, then to Houston and to New Jersey, where she got her law degree. She returned to Houston to teach law, then taught at the University of Texas in Austin and the University of Pennsylvania before finally landing at Harvard in Cambridge, where she has lived since the mid-1990s.
Colorado Sen. Michael F. Bennet has lived in eight states, the most of any candidate. He had four jobs in four years right after law school, and he eventually settled in Colorado in the late 1990s. His cabin in Bozeman, Mont., might be second only to Williamson’s geodesic dome for unusual abodes.
Elizabeth Warren
Cambridge, Mass.
Norman, Okla.
Norman, Okla.
Oklahoma City
Washington
Houston
Newark
Austin
Philadelphia
Cambridge, Mass.
Michael Bennet
Denver
New Delhi
Cambridge, Mass.
Washington
Middletown, Conn. New York
Columbus, Ohio
New Haven, Conn.
Baltimore
Bozeman, Mont.
Chester, Conn.
Denver
Elizabeth Warren
Cambridge, Mass.
Norman, Okla.
Norman, Okla.
Oklahoma City
Washington
Houston
Newark
Austin
Philadelphia
Cambridge, Mass.
Michael Bennet
Denver
New Haven, Conn.
Baltimore
Bozeman, Mont.
Chester, Conn.
Denver
New Delhi
Cambridge, Mass.
Washington
Middletown, Conn. New York
Columbus, Ohio
Michael Bennet
Elizabeth Warren
Cambridge, Mass.
Denver
Norman, Okla.
New Haven, Conn.
Baltimore
Bozeman, Mont.
Chester, Conn.
Denver
New Delhi
Cambridge, Mass.
Washington
Middletown, Conn. New York
Columbus, Ohio
Norman, Okla.
Oklahoma City
Washington
Houston
Newark
Austin
Philadelphia
Cambridge, Mass.
Many others stayed put
For five candidates, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue would be their first post-college residence outside the state where they grew up.
Sen. Cory Booker has lived in Newark, since he graduated from Yale Law School in 1997. Same for Inslee, Rep. Tim Ryan and Klobuchar, who returned to Washington, Ohio and Minnesota, respectively, right after law school. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang appears to have stayed in New York after he got his law degree from Columbia.
Cory Booker
Newark, N.J.
Washington
Washington
Harrington Park, N.J.
Stanford, Calif.
Oxford, England
New Haven, Conn.
Newark
Tim Ryan
Howland Township, Ohio
Niles, Ohio
Niles, Ohio
Bowling Green, Ohio
Florence, Italy
Concord, N.H.
Howland
Township, Ohio
Amy Klobuchar
Minneapolis
Plymouth, Minn.
Plymouth, Minn.
New Haven, Conn.
Chicago
Minneapolis
Andrew Yang
Schenectady, NY
New
York
Schenectady, N.Y.
Latham, N.Y.
Exeter, N.H.
Providence, R.I.
New York
Cory Booker
Newark, N.J.
Washington
Washington
Harrington Park, N.J.
Stanford, Calif.
Oxford, England
New Haven, Conn.
Newark
Tim Ryan
Howland Township, Ohio
Niles, Ohio
Niles, Ohio
Bowling Green, Ohio
Florence, Italy
Concord, N.H.
Howland
Township, Ohio
Amy Klobuchar
Minneapolis
Plymouth, Minn.
Plymouth, Minn.
New Haven, Conn.
Chicago
Minneapolis
Andrew Yang
Schenectady, NY
New
York
Schenectady, N.Y.
Latham, N.Y.
Exeter, N.H.
Providence, R.I.
New York
Cory Booker
Tim Ryan
Newark, N.J.
Howland Township, Ohio
Washington
Niles, Ohio
Washington
Harrington Park, N.J.
Stanford, Calif.
Oxford, England
New Haven, Conn.
Newark
Niles, Ohio
Bowling Green, Ohio
Florence, Italy
Concord, N.H.
Howland
Township, Ohio
Andrew Yang
Amy Klobuchar
Minneapolis
Plymouth, Minn.
Schenectady, NY
New
York
Schenectady, N.Y.
Latham, N.Y.
Exeter, N.H.
Providence, R.I.
New York
Plymouth, Minn.
New Haven, Conn.
Chicago
Minneapolis
Others were employed briefly elsewhere but quickly returned home.
South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, for instance, worked for a few years as a consultant in Chicago but now lives in the same South Bend neighborhood where he grew up. O’Rourke returned to his native El Paso a couple of years after finishing college in New York.
Pete Buttigieg
South Bend, Ind.
South Bend, Ind.
Cambridge, Mass.
Phoenix
Washington
Tunis
Oxford, England
Chicago
Kabul
Beto O’Rourke
El Paso
El Paso
Woodberry Forest, Va.
New York
Pete Buttigieg
South Bend, Ind.
South Bend, Ind.
Cambridge, Mass.
Phoenix
Washington
Tunis
Oxford, England
Chicago
Kabul
Beto O’Rourke
El Paso
El Paso
Woodberry Forest, Va.
New York
Beto O’Rourke
Pete Buttigieg
South Bend, Ind.
El Paso
El Paso
Woodberry Forest, Va.
New York
South Bend, Ind.
Cambridge, Mass.
Phoenix
Washington
Tunis
Oxford, England
Chicago
Kabul
Other than two years in Washington as President Barack Obama’s HUD secretary, Julián Castro has spent his adult life where he spent his childhood, in San Antonio. Miramar, Fla., Mayor Wayne Messam has lived exclusively in Florida except for a stretch in Fairfax, Va., right after college.
Julián Castro
San Antonio
San Antonio
Stanford, Calif.
Cambridge, Mass.
Washington
Wayne Messam
South
Bay
Miramar
South Bay, Fla.
Belle Glade, Fla.
Tallahassee
Fairfax, Va.
Miramar, Fla.
Julián Castro
San Antonio
San Antonio
Stanford, Calif.
Cambridge, Mass.
Washington
Wayne Messam
South
Bay
Miramar
South Bay, Fla.
Belle Glade, Fla.
Tallahassee
Fairfax, Va.
Miramar, Fla.
Julián Castro
Wayne Messam
South
Bay
San Antonio
Miramar
San Antonio
Stanford, Calif.
Cambridge, Mass.
Washington
South Bay, Fla.
Belle Glade, Fla.
Tallahassee
Fairfax, Va.
Miramar, Fla.
A few others, like Warren, found an adopted home and planted themselves there for good. Brooklyn-born Sen. Bernie Sanders moved to Vermont in the 1960s, not long after a short stint on an Israeli kibbutz.
Bernie Sanders
Burlington, Vt.
New
York
New York
Chicago
Shaar Ha’amakim, Israel
Middlesex, Vt.
Stannard, Vt.
Burlington, Vt.
Bernie Sanders
Burlington, Vt.
New York
New York
Chicago
Shaar Ha’amakim, Israel
Middlesex, Vt.
Stannard, Vt.
Burlington, Vt.
New Jersey native John Delaney has called the D.C. area home since his law school days at Georgetown, and he represented Maryland in Congress. Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, who grew up in Pennsylvania, moved to Colorado in 1981 for a geology job, started a successful brewpub and never left.
John Delaney
Wood-Ridge, N.J.
Potomac, Md.
Wood-Ridge, N.J.
Oradell, N.J.
New York
Washington
Potomac, Md.
John Hickenlooper
Narbeth, Pa.
Denver
Narberth, Pa.
Haverford, Pa.
Middletown, Conn.
Denver
John Delaney
Wood-Ridge, N.J.
Potomac, Md.
Wood-Ridge, N.J.
Oradell, N.J.
New York
Washington
Potomac, Md.
John Hickenlooper
Narbeth, Pa.
Denver
Narberth, Pa.
Haverford, Pa.
Middletown, Conn.
Denver
John Delaney
John Hickenlooper
Wood-Ridge, N.J.
Narbeth, Pa.
Denver
Potomac, Md.
Middletown, Conn.
Denver
Narberth, Pa.
Haverford, Pa.
Wood-Ridge, N.J.
Oradell, N.J.
New York
Washington
Potomac, Md.
And former vice president Joe Biden, who left Scranton, Pa., for Delaware as a 10-year-old, appears to have had only one long-term residence outside the state since law school in Syracuse: The official vice president’s digs at D.C.’s Naval Observatory.
Joe Biden
Scranton, Pa.
Wilmington, Del.
Scranton, Pa.
Claymont, Del.
Newark, Del.
Syracuse, N.Y.
Wilmington, Del.
Washington
Joe Biden
Scranton, Pa.
Wilmington, Del.
Scranton, Pa.
Claymont, Del.
Newark, Del.
Syracuse, N.Y.
Wilmington, Del.
Washington
Some have experience outside the 50 states
In his 31-year career, Sestak lived, at least briefly, in more than 65 countries and territories during deployments to the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean and Asia. (We tried to fit it all on a tiny map; it became dot-a-palooza. But if you’re interested, the list is at the bottom of this story.)
Candidates who have lived overseas
Reason for each stay
Military
Study abroad or fellowship
Other
Candidates who have lived overseas
Reason for each stay
Military
Study abroad or fellowship
Other
Candidates who have lived overseas
Michael Bennet
Cory Booker
Kamala Harris
Reason for each stay
Seth Moulton
Military
Study abroad or fellowship
Other
Tim Ryan
Bernie Sanders
Bill Weld
Pete Buttigieg
Tulsi Gabbard
Kirsten Gillibrand
Joe Sestak
Candidates who have lived overseas
Michael Bennet
Cory Booker
Kamala Harris
Seth Moulton
Reason for each stay
Tim Ryan
Military
Study abroad or fellowship
Other
Bernie Sanders
Bill Weld
Pete Buttigieg
Tulsi Gabbard
Kirsten Gillibrand
Joe Sestak
Three other candidates were also deployed outside the United States: Buttigieg to Kabul, Gabbard to Iraq and Kuwait and Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton to Baghdad.
[How Pete Buttigieg went from war protester to ‘packing my bags for Afghanistan']
Two candidates were born outside North America: Bennet in New Delhi, while his father was an aide to the U.S. ambassador to India, and Gabbard in American Samoa, to U.S. citizens. Harris spent most of her teens in Montreal.
A handful studied abroad, including New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who studied in Asia and had an internship in Austria at the U.N. crime prevention branch.
Does where they’ve lived really matter?
Yes, says University of Pennsylvania political science professor Daniel J. Hopkins, but not as much as it used to.
Hopkins studied home-state advantage for his 2018 book, “The Increasingly United States,” which documents that as national parties become more narrowly defined, voters tend to vote more and more along party lines rather than voting for a local candidate in a different party.
[For Bernie Sanders, the path to power began in a public-housing laundry room]
Hopkins said that a presidential candidate in the 1970s could count on getting a nearly 10-percentage-point boost in his home state. Now, a candidate can expect just a slight bump of 1 to 2 percent; perhaps a little more if they are from a relatively sparsely populated area where people are more likely to have a personal connection.
“In many ways,” wrote John Sides, political science professor at George Washington University, in an email, “a Democrat in rural Arkansas is more politically similar to a Democrat in San Francisco than the Republican who lives next door.”
In fact, a candidate can get very little love at home and win anyway. Exhibit A is the current president.
Then-candidate Donald Trump, a quintessential Manhattanite, got just 10 percent of the 2016 vote in his home borough. And a 2018 Pew survey of voters across the country found that more rural Republicans said they felt “warmly” about this ultra-urban president, by almost 10 points, than urban Republicans did.
Donald Trump
New
York
Washington
New York
Cornwall, N.Y.
Philadelphia
Washington
Donald Trump
New
York
Washington
New York
Cornwall, N.Y.
Philadelphia
Washington
The study found that on some issues, rural voters tend to vote alike, and ditto for urban voters, regardless of where in the country they live. So perhaps the gap in the Deep South will not matter, or perhaps Southern voters will be annoyed that they don’t see themselves in any candidate.
[How a grieving mom changed Kirsten Gillibrand’s stance on guns]
Regardless, candidates shouldn’t chuck their “I Heart (Insert locality here)” T-shirts yet, because primaries take party out of the equation. Hopkins said he would expect home advantage to be a much bigger factor in the primaries because locals would be better known and probably would have more robust fundraising networks there. Case in point: On Super Tuesday 2008, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) trounced Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in his home base, while she stomped him nearly as badly in hers.
But if the recent trend holds, party will trump geography in the general election. The takeaway is that you can go home again, but folks there may not vote for you.
Steve Bullock
Missoula
Helena
Missoula, Mont.
Helena, Mont.
Claremont, Calif.
Philadelphia
New York
Washington
Bill de Blasio
New York
New York
Cambridge, Mass.
College Park, Md.
Kirsten Gillibrand
Brunswick, N.Y.
Albany, N.Y.
Albany, N.Y.
Troy, N.Y.
Hanover, N.H.
Beijing
Taichung, Taiwan
Los Angeles
Vienna
New York
Hong Kong
Jakarta, Indonesia
Larchmont, N.Y.
Washington
Hudson, N.Y.
Brunswick, N.Y.
Seth Moulton
Salem, Mass.
Salem, Mass.
Andover, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.
Quantico, Va.
Baghdad
Dallas
Joe Sestak
Secane,Pa.
Edgmont, Pa.
Secane, Pa.
Annapolis
Norfolk
Cambridge, Mass.
San Diego
Mayport, Fla.
Alexandria, Va.
Newport, R.I.
Washington
Edgmont, Pa.
Does not include countries visited during naval deployment.
Bill Weld
Canton, Mass.
Smithtown, N.Y.
Smithtown, N.Y.
Concord, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.
Oxford, England
Washington
New York
Canton, Mass.
Steve Bullock
Missoula
Helena
Missoula, Mont.
Helena, Mont.
Claremont, Calif.
Philadelphia
New York
Washington
Bill de Blasio
New York
New York
Cambridge, Mass.
College Park, Md.
Kirsten Gillibrand
Brunswick, N.Y.
Albany, N.Y.
Albany, N.Y.
Troy, N.Y.
Hanover, N.H.
Beijing
Taichung, Taiwan
Los Angeles
Vienna
New York
Hong Kong
Jakarta, Indonesia
Larchmont, N.Y.
Washington
Hudson, N.Y.
Brunswick, N.Y.
Seth Moulton
Salem, Mass.
Salem, Mass.
Andover, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.
Quantico, Va.
Baghdad
Dallas
Joe Sestak
Secane,Pa.
Edgmont, Pa.
Mayport, Fla.
Alexandria, Va.
Newport, R.I.
Washington
Edgmont, Pa.
Secane, Pa.
Annapolis
Norfolk
Cambridge, Mass.
San Diego
Does not include countries visited during naval deployment.
Bill Weld
Canton, Mass.
Smithtown, N.Y.
Smithtown, N.Y.
Concord, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.
Oxford, England
Washington
New York
Canton, Mass.
Bill de Blasio
Steve Bullock
Missoula
Helena
New York
New York
Cambridge, Mass.
College Park, Md.
Missoula, Mont.
Helena, Mont.
Claremont, Calif.
Philadelphia
New York
Washington
Kirsten Gillibrand
Seth Moulton
Brunswick, N.Y.
Salem, Mass.
Albany, N.Y.
Albany, N.Y.
Troy, N.Y.
Hanover, N.H.
Beijing
Taichung, Taiwan
Los Angeles
Vienna
New York
Hong Kong
Jakarta, Indonesia
Larchmont, N.Y.
Washington
Hudson, N.Y.
Brunswick, N.Y.
Salem, Mass.
Andover, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.
Quantico, Va.
Baghdad
Dallas
Joe Sestak
Bill Weld
Canton, Mass.
Secane,Pa.
Edgmont, Pa.
Smithtown, N.Y.
Smithtown, N.Y.
Concord, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.
Oxford, England
Washington
New York
Canton, Mass.
Secane, Pa.
Annapolis
Norfolk
Cambridge, Mass.
San Diego
Mayport, Fla.
Alexandria, Va.
Newport, R.I.
Washington
Edgmont, Pa.
Does not include countries visited during naval deployment.
About this story: We repeatedly contacted all 26 campaigns, and 20 of them confirmed locations where the candidates have lived. Information for the six that did not respond — Joe Biden, Bill de Blasio, Tulsi Gabbard, Marianne Williamson, Andrew Yang and Bill Weld — came from biographies on their office and campaign websites, Marquis Who’s Who, public property records and published news stories.
Joe Sestak’s campaign said he deployed to these countries and territories: Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Britain, Greece, Italy, Tunisia, Israel, Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Portugal, Spain, Malta, Palestinian territories, Jordan, Bermuda, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, American Samoa, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Australia, Guam, China, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia (before it split into Slovakia and Czech Republic), Austria, Switzerland, Yugoslavia (before it split), the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Canada, Russia, Aruba, Egypt, Djibouti, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Monaco, Turkey, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Albania, Slovenia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq.