Scott Bassinger finds that of the more than 250 members of the House of Representatives have been involved in various scandals since Watergate, roughly 40% did not “survive” their scandal.
“Incumbents who stood for reelection lost 5 percent of the general election vote share, on average, but the electoral repercussions vary across types of scandals and could be magnified in the presence of a quality challenger. A scandal-tainted incumbent defending his or her seat does not necessarily fare better than an untainted open-seat candidate, a finding that provides a justification for stronger ethics rules.”
Via The Political Wire.
