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

Basinger, Scott (2013) Voters punish members of Congress who misbehave: only two-thirds of representatives and barely two-fifths of senators survive scandals. LSE American Politics and Policy (USAPP) Blog (25 Sep 2013). Website.

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Abstract

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.

Item Type: Online resource (Website)
Official URL: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/
Additional Information: © 2013 LSE USAPP
Divisions: LSE
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology
J Political Science > JK Political institutions (United States)
J Political Science > JS Local government Municipal government
Date Deposited: 23 Jun 2014 13:56
Last Modified: 15 Sep 2023 18:57
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/57203

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