Sanford and the Electoral Effect of Sex Scandals

Tuesday night’s special election in South Carolina’s First Congressional District was won by the Republican Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor whose political career was imperiled in 2009 after he disclosed an extramarital affair.

As we almost always say about special elections, the race probably does not tell us very much about the national political landscape. However, it does give us another data point on how voters react to sex scandals. [cont.]

Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight (NYT)

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