The Impact of Incumbent Scandals on Senate Elections, 1972–2016
In recent decades, a growing body of literature focused on the effects of scandals on congressional elections. The studies concluded that scandals decrease candidates’ vote totals, and that certain types of scandals have a more deleterious effect than others. Virtually all of these studies...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/4/114 |
| _version_ | 1817978849004093440 |
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| author | Nicholas Chad Long |
| author_facet | Nicholas Chad Long |
| author_sort | Nicholas Chad Long |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent decades, a growing body of literature focused on the effects of scandals on congressional elections. The studies concluded that scandals decrease candidates’ vote totals, and that certain types of scandals have a more deleterious effect than others. Virtually all of these studies focus on House elections. The obvious differences between the two chambers calls into question the applicability of these findings for Senate elections. This study examines the impact that incumbent scandals had on senatorial elections from 1972 to 2016. Scandals are categorized based on the nature of the transgression in order to determine if the type of scandal made a difference. The results reveal that senators seeking reelection while confronting a scandal suffered a 4% decrease in the popular vote. Scandals involving political misdeeds, financial improprieties, and controversial statements hurt incumbents the most. Scandals also attracted challengers who spent more money against the incumbents. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T22:35:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b6f3d2c5b30643a686c9ca70a0940248 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T22:35:35Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-b6f3d2c5b30643a686c9ca70a09402482022-12-22T02:26:47ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602019-04-018411410.3390/socsci8040114socsci8040114The Impact of Incumbent Scandals on Senate Elections, 1972–2016Nicholas Chad Long0Department of Political Science, Global Studies, Environmental Science and Policy, School of Behavioral and Social Sciences, St. Edward’s University, Austin, TX 78704, USAIn recent decades, a growing body of literature focused on the effects of scandals on congressional elections. The studies concluded that scandals decrease candidates’ vote totals, and that certain types of scandals have a more deleterious effect than others. Virtually all of these studies focus on House elections. The obvious differences between the two chambers calls into question the applicability of these findings for Senate elections. This study examines the impact that incumbent scandals had on senatorial elections from 1972 to 2016. Scandals are categorized based on the nature of the transgression in order to determine if the type of scandal made a difference. The results reveal that senators seeking reelection while confronting a scandal suffered a 4% decrease in the popular vote. Scandals involving political misdeeds, financial improprieties, and controversial statements hurt incumbents the most. Scandals also attracted challengers who spent more money against the incumbents.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/4/114Congresscampaigns and electionspolitical candidatesvoting behaviorscandals |
| spellingShingle | Nicholas Chad Long The Impact of Incumbent Scandals on Senate Elections, 1972–2016 Social Sciences Congress campaigns and elections political candidates voting behavior scandals |
| title | The Impact of Incumbent Scandals on Senate Elections, 1972–2016 |
| title_full | The Impact of Incumbent Scandals on Senate Elections, 1972–2016 |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Incumbent Scandals on Senate Elections, 1972–2016 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Incumbent Scandals on Senate Elections, 1972–2016 |
| title_short | The Impact of Incumbent Scandals on Senate Elections, 1972–2016 |
| title_sort | impact of incumbent scandals on senate elections 1972 2016 |
| topic | Congress campaigns and elections political candidates voting behavior scandals |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/4/114 |
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