"A few weeks ago, Katie Porter's campaign for California governor was reeling. A day after an irritable TV interview went viral, an old video surfaced of the former Orange County congresswoman cursing and berating one of her aides. Around the same time, the race for U.S. Senate in Maine was shaken by a number of disturbing online posts. In them, Democratic hopeful Graham Platner disparaged police and Black people, among other crude remarks."
"Meanwhile, in Virginia, several old text messages swallowed attorney general nominee Jay Jones in a cumulus of controversy. The Democrat had joked about shooting the Republican leader of the state House and blithely spoken of watching his children die in their mother's arms. Once - say, 20 or 30 years ago - those blow-ups might have been enough to chase each of those embattled candidates from their respective races, and maybe even end their political careers altogether."
"But in California, Porter has pressed on and remains in the top tier of the crowded gubernatorial field. In Maine, Platner continues to draw large, enthusiastic crowds and leads polling in the Democratic primary. In Virginia, Jones was just elected attorney general, defeating his Republican opponent by a comfortable margin. Clearly, things have changed. Actions that once caused eyes to widen, such as the recreational puffs of marijuana that cost appeals court judge Douglas Ginsburg a Supreme Court seat under President Reagan, now seem quaint."
Controversies that previously ended political careers now frequently produce only brief setbacks. Katie Porter, Graham Platner and Jay Jones each faced resurfaced interviews, online posts, tattoos or text messages that would have damaged prospects decades ago but did not remove them from contention. Porter remains a top gubernatorial contender, Platner leads Maine Democratic primary polling while drawing large crowds, and Jones won election as Virginia attorney general. Earlier incidents such as Judge Douglas Ginsburg's marijuana use and Gary Hart's extramarital affair are now viewed with less political consequence. Public attitudes and the shorter shelf life of events have reduced the career-ending power of transgressions.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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