carpetbaggers

Cultural  

1. Northerners who went to the South after the Civil War to take part in Reconstruction governments, when persons who had supported the Confederacy were not allowed to hold public office (see Fourteenth Amendment). Some of them arrived, according to legend, carrying only one carpetbag, which symbolized their lack of permanent interest in the place they pretended to serve.

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Carpetbagger is still a general term for nonresident politicians who exploit their districts.

Example Sentences

Do voters really still punish carpetbaggers and reward candidates with deep ties to their districts?

From Salon • Aug. 19, 2022

“We don’t want carpetbaggers coming in here with lots of money,” Mr. Niceley told a local television station last month.

From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2022

I grew up with family from elsewhere in the South not-so-jokingly turning their nose up at so-called carpetbaggers, and so I’ve tried very hard to be involved in my community.

From Slate • Dec. 16, 2019

Perhaps I’m extra-sensitive to this: I was one of the carpetbaggers when I was Eater’s national critic.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2019

Accessorized with the right mix of confidence and haughtiness, it reduces my audience to a world of leering carpetbaggers and gasping Aunt Pittypats.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris