Story highlights
Several Republicans encountered scandals since the last election
They were able to win re-election despite the bad headlines
You know that Republican doctor who got one of his patients pregnant and then demanded that she get an abortion? Yeah, he won Tuesday night.
How about the indicted guy who threatened to throw a reporter over a Capitol Hill balcony? Yep. Him too.
Election Day was packed with surprises — and some of the biggest were in House races.
Two Republican members of Congress managed to win despite federal investigations and bad behavior so far-fetched that even the writer’s room at “Scandal” would take a pass on their stories.
Look at Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District, where Rep. Scott Desjarlais cruised to re-election over token Democratic opposition.
Desjarlais, a physician by trade, was first elected in 2010, but this election marked his first time on the ballot since a full accounting of his torrid personal life burst into view two years ago.
His divorce proceedings, made public in late 2012, revealed that the pro-life Republican had slept with multiple patients and impregnated one of them before pressuring her to get an abortion. He also demanded that his ex-wife terminate two pregnancies.
But never mind all that: Desjarlais, who has apologized for his past, represents a conservative district and has an R next to his name. He won easily.
A more genuine shock occurred in the toss-up seat of New York’s 11th District, where Rep. Michael Grimm, who represents Staten Island, narrowly pulled it out in a hotly-contested race against Democrat Domenic Recchia.
Grimm, a hot-headed former FBI agent and U.S. Marine, is facing a 20-count indictment stemming from his management – or mismanagement – of a Manhattan health food eatery called “Healthalicious.”
He also became cable news fodder earlier this year after he was caught on a hot mic threatening to throw a NY1 reporter over a balcony in the Capitol rotunda after the journalist asked him about the federal investigation. “I will break you in half, like a boy,” Grimm snarled at him.
Democrats saw what looked like an easy target and poured money poured into the district. Though Recchia looked like he came straight out of New York City central casting, Grimm proved to be the more capable campaigner.
Or maybe he was just better looking.
The New York Daily News nabbed the quote of the year in October when a reporter asked a female voter why she was supporting Grimm.
Her answer: “He’s bang-able.”
Also, San Diego city councilman Carl DeMaio – who faced accusations of sexual misconduct before being cleared of wrongdoing – was holding on to a very slim lead in his quest to unseat incumbent Democratic Rep. Scott Peters. The race has still not been called as of Wednesday.
However, Louisiana Republican Rep. Vance McAllister, whose notoriety was tied to a video released of him kissing a campaign staffer, did not win reelection Tuesday. He finished fourth.