Indiana GOP Senate candidate faces criticism for out-of-state properties

Senate candidate Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.) is facing scrutiny for living out of state, despite co-owning a house with his mother in Indiana.

Messer, who sold his Indiana home two years after he was elected to Congress in 2012, currently owns a home with his wife Jennifer in the Washington suburb of McLean, Va., as well as a vacation home in Dandridge, Tenn., according to The Associated Press.

The congressman said he made the decision to relocate because he wanted to be able to spend more time with his family.

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However, Messer said he co-owns a home in Greensburg, Ind., and says it is the family’s Indiana residence.

The congressman is listed on the home’s deed and pays part of the mortgage.

The address is listed on Messer’s driver’s license and is where he is registered to vote, according to the AP.

However, Messer has not been listed on the water bill since May and has not been listed as the “borrower” on a second mortgage taken out on the home.

Messer and his wife have switched their McLean home’s designation from “principal residence” to “secondary residence,” according to the AP, a sign that Messer was aware of the complications that could arise in the race.

The family’s Tennessee vacation home is listed as a “secondary residence,” according to records obtained by the AP.

Messer’s residency has been used as a point of attack by his primary opponent Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.).

A strategist from Rokita’s campaign told the AP that Messer’s “decision to sell his home in Indiana” will be “the death knell of his campaign.”

Messer campaign manager Chasen Bullock fired back.

“Todd Rokita believes he can keep his own political career alive by attacking Luke’s family. He underestimates the fundamental decency of Hoosiers,” Bullock said.