A.B. Stoddard: The midterms in review: Who made the biggest mistakes?

Ah, the midterm elections of 2014, thanks for the memories. There were certainly some keepers: a supporter of Sen. Thad Cochran’s opponent snuck into Cochran’s wife’s nursing home to take pictures of her, Rep. Bruce Braley, a Democrat hoping to become a senator from Iowa, got caught describing the most senior member of his delegation (Sen. Chuck Grassley) as “just a farmer who doesn’t have a law degree,” and of course Florida Gov. Rick Scott was so offended by the idea of air flow he was willing to embarrass himself by delaying a televised debate against with Charlie Crist when Crist brought a fan to place at his feet.

But there were also errors numerous candidates made that could easily be avoided in the future, like having no residence in the state he or she represents and skipping hearings. The basic elementary school lesson some candidates clearly forgot is this: be where you are supposed to be and do what you are supposed to do.

{mosads}Residency should be a gimme. Sure, way back lawmakers would settle in to a life in Washington, even making friends across the aisle, dining and recreating together in the nation’s capital, and no one felt the need to race back home for face time with constituents. Those days are gone, so now you are actually expected to live in the state you represent. No, not just vote there, but sleep there now and then. Not in a hotel, but a house or apartment you have paid for yourself. Sen. Pat Roberts, in the political fight of his life, famously told The New York Times in February that when he visits the state he stays with two donors and “I have full access to the recliner.” A local who lives near the house was quoted saying he had only seen Roberts there twice since 1977.

It was a mistake Roberts’s colleague, the accomplished and respected former Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), had made two years before, which helped cost him the Senate seat he had held for more than three decades. In a New York Times piece a Roberts aide, David Kensinger, said with confidence that the senator had begun paying the donor friends a regular fee for the crash pad because “we’re not going to get Lugared,” as if that would be enough to paper over the fact that Roberts was still a full-time resident of Virginia, trying to represent Kansas.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) watched the same mistake from across the aisle two years ago and then made it herself. Her family has been a fixture in politics in the Pelican State, where her father Moon was a New Orleans mayor, and her brother Mitch — a former lieutenant governor — is the current New Orleans mayor. Landrieu owns a $2.5 million house on Capitol Hill but stays at her parent’s home when she returns to the state. Neighbors there were quoted in news accounts saying they rarely see her, but recall her accompanying her parents to the polling station on Election Day. A rookie mistake for a veteran from an experienced political family.

Not only should candidates for office mind their addresses, they should accept that their schedule will be scrutinized for every absence and failure to appear and perform the duties of their office. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) campaigned for Sen. Kay Hagan’s (D-N.C.) opponent recently and noted Hagan had skipped an intelligence briefing in order to attend a fundraiser. “We hold hearings so that we can be better informed and when she doesn’t show up, obviously, it indicates that she is not well-informed,” he said. Speaking before veterans on behalf of Thom Tillis, McCain added “these are very serious times, and Sen. Hagan wasn’t there.” Incumbents Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Braley were also criticized by their challengers for failure to appear at their committee hearings.

Let’s call these what they are — stupid mistakes. The question is, can we resign them to dustbin of congressional campaign history, or will we see them again in 2016?

Stoddard is an associate editor of The Hill.