Politicians’ ability to survive a scandal is more to do with their ability to govern and maintain coalition than with the public’s approval

Last week we saw New Jersey Governor Chris Christie embroiled in what has become known as the ‘Bridgegate’ scandal. But what are the factors that make a scandal last longer or shorten them? Brandon Rottinghaus has made an in-depth study of national and state-level scandals, finding that at state level they generally last for less than 100 days, and around six months for presidential-level scandals. He finds that elected officials are far more likely to survive scandals as opposed to appointees, because, having been elected; they are simply harder to remove, and that a greater degree of legislative opposition makes scandals harder to overcome.