US elections: The scandal-hit politicians on the ballot

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Each is a sitting congressman. Each is on the ballot for the 4 November US elections, and each believes they can win.

Take Michael Grimm. In April the New York Republican was indicted on 20 criminal charges, all of which he denies. Prosecutors accused him of concealing more than $1m.
Grimm - who in January apologised after threatening to throw a reporter off a balcony - is the front-runner in the race for his district. A recent poll showed him leading his Democratic challenger by 44% to 40%.

In Tennessee, pro-life doctor Scott DesJarlais was recorded pressuring a former patient with whom he had an affair to terminate her pregnancy. He was accused of asking other women to seek abortions and reprimanded by the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners for affairs with patients. His ex-wife said he had shown "violent and threatening" behaviour towards her.

The allegations emerged just before the last congressional elections in 2012, and it was widely predicted DesJarlais's career would be over this year. But he won the Republican primary in his district by 37 votes, and local media have described him as the "odds-on favourite" to prevail on 4 November.

Then there's Vance McAllister, who was filmed embracing an aide who happened not to be his wife. Recent surveys have suggested he is likely to take the race in his Louisiana district to a run-off.You might expect that in an era of relentless 24-hour media coverage and vicious negative campaigning, stories of this kind would be career-ending.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29713125