Political scandal is a common feature of many democratic societies and often tarnishes the reputation of politicians. However, research on the effects of political scandal is sporadic and inconsistent. This article provides a systematic overview and analysis of 78 studies (collectively involving more than 54,000 participants) that have investigated the consequences of scandal. The findings of the studies converge on two central outcome variables: citizens’ evaluations of politicians and electoral consequences of scandals. In addition, the authors show that five central moderators (politician’s characteristics, politician’s response, citizens’ prior attitudes, context, and scandal type) significantly influence scandal effects.
Political polarization creates perverse incentives for politicians to engage in misbehavior that can become a scandal. This partisan nature of scandal-making taints the public discourse and confuses voters about what really happened. It also reduces the value of scandal news for a given politician, leading the aligned party to suppress information about the misbehavior and the opposing party to make false accusations—both of which decrease the legitimacy of political institutions and undermine voters’ ability to determine truth.
On the micro-level, local politicians strategically withdraw their support from parties hit by scandals. This reduces the likelihood of a government being dissolved early, thereby enhancing the politician’s own career opportunities in the future. In addition, it enables the politician to break free of the influence of people financing their campaign and thus avoid being corrupted or influenced by money. Moreover, it has been found that politicians who break their affiliation with parties affected by scandals are more likely to be elected into provincial and regional assemblies in the 15 years following Clean Hands.