Whether it is tax evasion or sexual harassment, political scandals expose unethical behavior and corruption in public life. Some, like the rampant bribery of the Gilded Age, catalyzed legislative responses. Others, such as the Credit Mobilier scandal of the 1920s, pushed for more transparent government contracting practices. Regardless of the nature of scandals, they raise fundamental questions about citizens’ trust in politicians and the legitimacy of the political process.
The answers to these questions are complex and influenced by many factors. Among them, the extent to which politicians’ norm transgressions are reported and framed (Esser & Hartung, 2004), their historical context, and partisanship play a critical role. Further, how a scandal is perceived depends on the level of polarization in a political system. The more polarized the political environment, the more it is likely that both the aligned party and the opposing party will suppress information about their politician’s misbehavior or even make false accusations. This is a lose-lose situation for all voters, as they will not receive truthful information about the politician’s misconduct.
A few studies have found that scandals do harm politicians’ reputations, but they also can increase their political career opportunities. However, these findings are inconsistent and depend on several central moderators: candidate characteristics and behaviors, prior attitudes, context, and the type of scandal. In this article, we present new research that provides more precise conceptualizations of these variables and identifies avenues for future work on the effects of political scandal.