Florida has long commanded an unusually large place in national politics. This midterm cycle, however, property in the Sunshine State has become an awkward liability for Republican Senate candidates campaigning hundreds of miles away.

Mike Rogers, Roger Marshall, Michele Tafoya and Ken Paxton are Republican nominees in closely contested Senate races. All four own, or recently owned, Florida real estate while seeking to represent Michigan, Kansas, Minnesota or Texas.

Democrats are seizing on those holdings to portray their opponents as disconnected from the states they hope to represent. The attacks have landed forcefully enough that Marshall told MS NOW his Florida home had been sold.

The Kansas Reflector reported that Marshall owned a Sarasota vacation home valued at about $1.2 million. He has hosted fundraiser retreats in Florida, while his wife held a Florida real estate license from 2021 through 2023.

The Kansas City Star also reported that Marshall took several official trips from the nation’s capital to the Sarasota area. During a Kansas debate last month, Marshall said his home “is a short hour’s ride down a gravel road here.”

Marshall said he used the Florida property while visiting his grandchildren. His campaign told MS NOW on Thursday evening that he no longer owned the property because he had sold it, after local media reported it was listed for sale as of August.

In Michigan, Rogers continues facing questions about whether he is really a “Florida man.” Michigan’s NPR station reported that Rogers and his wife purchased a Cape Coral home for $1.6 million in 2022 and claimed it as their permanent residence in 2023.

The couple listed the property for sale in 2025 but reportedly removed it from the market last month. Rogers was once registered to vote in Florida, although his Michigan registration is active again.

Before the 2024 election, Rogers dismissed residency questions as “absolutely nuts.” His campaign emphasized his Michigan background, saying the former congressman was “raised in Michigan and went on to raise his family here.”

The campaign also attacked Democratic opponent Abdul El-Sayed over a July financial disclosure showing his wife owned a rental property in the United Arab Emirates. El-Sayed, meanwhile, has repeatedly raised Rogers’ Florida property during campaign appearances.

At a recent town hall in Macomb County, El-Sayed told hundreds of attendees, “He knows he’s going back to Florida.” The remark prompted jeers and boos from the crowd.

El-Sayed campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak called Rogers “a multi-millionaire accustomed to his Florida mansion and two yachts” and said he was disconnected from working Michigan residents. Wozniak also criticized Rogers for supporting Trump’s Iran War and trade war, which he said were increasing costs.

Tafoya, running for Senate in Minnesota, owns a home in Miromar Lakes, Florida, according to local property records. She has also publicly criticized Minnesota while praising Florida.

In 2023, Tafoya posted that she was “embarrassed” to say she lived in Minnesota. In 2024, she wrote that she would be “fleeing soon.”

Tafoya described herself in a 2023 video podcast as “sort of a Florida woman,” explaining that she lived there “part time” and owned a house there. Later that year, she referred to herself as a “Florida resident” in a social media post.

A spokesperson for Democrat Peggy Flanigan said Tafoya “has made it very clear where her loyalties lie: in Florida, right next to Donald Trump.” The spokesperson added, “Minnesotans don’t want someone who is ‘embarrassed’ to call our state home. Tafoya is welcome to leave for Mar-a-Lago any time she likes.”

Paxton, who is running for Senate in Texas, also possesses a real estate portfolio extending beyond his state. Public records reviewed by The New York Times showed that Paxton, his blind trust and a family trust own numerous properties in several states, including three Florida homes.

His Democratic opponent, James Talarico, recently released a video mocking Paxton’s broader collection of properties outside Texas, although the video did not specifically mention Florida. The Tafoya and Paxton campaigns did not respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.

In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton used last month’s debate to mock Marshall’s Florida connection. Hamilton said he “will live here after I’m elected senator” and added, “I’m not going to sell my house and move to Florida.”

The argument may be reaching some voters. During a recent Michigan focus group, MS NOW heard some Macomb County participants dismiss Rogers as a “carpetbagger.”

Wichita voter Kelly Gentry told MS NOW she “definitely” disliked Marshall’s Florida connection. “How are you in touch with your constituents when you’re hundreds of miles away from them?” she asked.