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How many democratic versus how many republicans have been charged with sexual misconduct
Executive summary
Available reporting does not provide a single, up-to-date tally that cleanly counts “how many Democrats versus how many Republicans have been charged with sexual misconduct” across all levels of U.S. government; different outlets have compiled counts for specific scopes and time periods — for example, the Associated Press counted at least 90 state lawmakers accused since 2017 (mixed parties) [1], and PBS reported an updated AP tally of 147 state lawmakers in 44 states accused since 2017 [2]. National-level lists (Congress, governors, presidential figures) exist in separate compilations (NBC, Reuters, Wikipedia) but they do not uniformly break down charges by party in a single authoritative dataset [3] [4] [5].
1. There’s no single authoritative, party-by-party “charged” count across levels
News organizations and research projects have created lists and tallies, but those projects differ in scope (state lawmakers vs. federal figures), timeframe (since 2017 vs. earlier decades), and criteria (accused, alleged, investigated, charged, or convicted). For instance, AP’s 2021 count covered “at least 90 state lawmakers” facing allegations since 2017 without presenting a party-split summary in that item [1], while PBS cited an updated AP catalog totaling 147 state lawmakers across 44 states accused since 2017 [2]. These sources compile allegations and repercussions rather than a uniform party-by-party count of formal criminal charges [2] [1].
2. Media lists exist for national political figures but are inconsistent on “charged” status
Major outlets published lists of national figures accused of sexual misconduct (NBC updated a list in 2017, Reuters produced a factbox in 2021), and Wikipedia maintains a running page of federal political sex scandals; each names individuals and party affiliations but they mix allegations, resignations, investigations and criminal charges rather than giving a single metric of “charged” by party [3] [4] [5]. Reuters explicitly notes it “has not independently confirmed the accusations” in its factbox, highlighting limits when converting allegation lists into verified charge tallies [4].
3. State-level reporting shows hundreds of allegations across parties but not a neat partisan split
Recent reporting emphasizes that state legislatures have a systemic problem: Stateline and 19th News cite hundreds of allegations — one report counted 400 allegations against 145 sitting state lawmakers between 2013 and 2024 — but these pieces emphasize systemic culture and mixed-party incidence rather than a neat partisan count of criminal charges [6] [7]. Stateline notes that misconduct affects both parties and points to episodes in which Democrats and Republicans alike have faced public allegations [6].
4. Party response and public consequences are politically asymmetric according to some studies
Scholarly and advocacy pieces note asymmetries in how allegations affect careers and public support: research suggests partisanship colors responses — e.g., some studies find Democrats are more likely to withdraw support from accused members than Republicans in comparable cases — but these are about public and electoral reactions rather than raw counts of charges [8] [9]. The SPSP commentary cites an AP count of “over 90 state lawmakers—both Democratic and Republican—accused since 2017,” underscoring that accusations cut across parties [9].
5. “Accused” vs. “charged” vs. “convicted”: reporting mixes terms; you must pick one
Available sources often use “accused” or “faced allegations” rather than “charged” (criminally). The AP and PBS tallies explicitly count lawmakers “accused” or “facing public allegations or repercussions” since 2017 [1] [2]. Reuters’ factbox lists figures “accused” and cautions about independent confirmation [4]. Wikipedia’s list contains historical scandals across outcomes [5]. Because the sources conflate allegation and charge, they cannot be straightforwardly transformed into a verified partisan breakdown of criminal charges without additional, case‑by‑case legal verification [2] [1] [4].
6. What a careful answer would require (and why it’s hard to produce from available sources)
To produce an accurate Democrat-vs.-Republican count of people formally charged for sexual misconduct you would need: (a) a defined scope (federal vs. state vs. all elected officials), (b) a defined time period, and (c) a case‑by‑case legal status check (charged, indicted, convicted, dismissed). None of the compiled lists in the available reporting provides that standardized dataset; AP/PBS and other outlets provide useful tallies of allegations but stop short of a consolidated, party-separated “charged” count [2] [1] [7].
7. Practical next steps if you want a party-by-party, verified count
Decide the scope and timeframe, then ask for a bespoke audit: researchers would need to cross-reference AP/PBS lists [2] [1], Reuters/NBC/Wikipedia inventories for national figures [3] [4] [5], and then verify legal charging documents or court records for each named individual. Current reporting offers starting lists and qualitative context — including examples and systemic patterns — but not the single, cited numeric split you asked for [1] [2] [7].
Limitations: reporting cited here focuses on compilations of accusations and does not provide a single verified tally of “charged” Democrats vs. Republicans; available sources do not mention a consolidated party-by-party charge count. Citations: AP [1], PBS/updated AP tally [2], Reuters [4], NBC [3], Wikipedia [5], Stateline/19th [6] [7], SPSP commentary [9], academic study on partisan responses [8].