Do Scandals Matter?

• In Event: Election-Related Challenges to Democracy in the U.S.

Abstract

Political science research is conflicted about the impact of political scandals on survival in office. Scholars have found strong negative impacts to some scandals and certain politicians but others have found minimal or no effects. The literature has explored several consequences to scandals but no one work examines them collectively. This article examines presidential, gubernatorial, and Congressional scandals from 1972 to 2021 to assess the impact of scandal in a polarizing America. This article finds politicians in recent eras face more serious negative consequences from scandals than those of earlier eras but the effects vary across institutions. Congressional scandals in the Watergate era lead to more resignations but fewer resignations of White House officials. During the Trump administration, officials did not survive in office at rates greater than past eras but scandals still ended Congressional careers in significant numbers than later, more polarized eras.

Author

• Brandon Rottinghaus, University of Houston