Congressional candidate Seth Magaziner moves to house in 2nd District

CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) – Democratic congressional candidate Seth Magaziner has moved into the district he is seeking to represent, his campaign confirmed Tuesday.

Magaziner is renting a home in the Edgewood neighborhood of Cranston, spokesperson Patricia Socarras confirmed, and will be changing his permanent address.

The 39-year-old general treasurer announced his bid for retiring Congressman Jim Langevin’s seat in the 2nd Congressional District back in January, exiting the campaign for governor. But Magaziner owns a house on the East Side of Providence, which lies in the 1st Congressional District, represented by Democrat David Cicilline.

While federal law only requires a candidate live in the state they want to represent, not the district, Magaziner pledged in January to move into the 2nd District, and has been criticized by his opponents for continuing to live in the 1st District for the past six months.

When Magaziner debuted his first TV campaign ad last week, it depicted the treasurer with his and son in front of a house that wasn’t his own, prompting rival Democrat Joy Fox’s campaign to point out he couldn’t film an ad at his own home and also in the district he’s seeking to represent. (Magaziner’s campaign said the ad was filmed at a supporter’s house in West Warwick.)

Fox noted on Twitter earlier this month that if Magaziner didn’t move soon, he wouldn’t even be able to vote for himself in the primary. The voter registration deadline is this coming Sunday.

Magaziner’s move was first reported by The Boston Globe.

Socarras said Magaziner and his wife, Julia McDowell, are now “preparing to list” their Providence house for sale.

Despite living outside the district until now, Magaziner has maintained a wide lead in Democratic primary polling and in fundraising. But the winner of that primary faces a competitive general election against Republican Allan Fung.

Democrats Omar Bah, Spencer Dickinson, Joy Fox, Sarah Morgenthau and David Segal are all challenging Magaziner for the 2nd District nomination in the Sept. 13 primary. Moderate Party candidate William Gilbert is also running in the general election.

Ted Nesi contributed to this report.