Voters punish members of Congress who misbehave: only two-thirds of representatives and barely two-fifths of senators survive scandals

Scandals have become a recurring feature of modern political life, but do they inevitably spell electoral doom for senators and representatives? Looking at data from 171 scandals from 1990 to 2010, Scott Basinger finds that scandal-tainted members of Congress are more than twice as likely to be defeated in general elections as the scandal-free. Scandals also mean much narrower election victories for incumbents when they do win elections. Overall, only two-thirds of representatives and barely two-fifths of senators survive their scandals because of election losses, retirement or resignation.