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How many democrats have been charged with sexual misconduct
Executive summary
There is no single authoritative count in the provided reporting that answers “How many Democrats have been charged with sexual misconduct”; available sources give counts for mixed-party datasets (e.g., AP counted “over 90” state lawmakers accused since 2017 without party breakdown) or catalog lists of alleged incidents involving both parties [1] [2]. Reporting and compilations instead enumerate individual high‑profile Democratic figures (Al Franken, Andrew Cuomo, Mel Reynolds, Brock Adams, Raul Bocanegra and others) and broader tallies of accused lawmakers across parties [3] [4] [5].
1. What the major compilations actually measure — allegations, accusations, or charges?
Most of the pieces in the set compile allegations or accusations rather than a clean legal tally of formal criminal charges: the Associated Press and other outlets counted lawmakers “accused” of sexual harassment or misconduct since 2017 (AP cited about 90 state lawmakers; PBS cites 147 lawmakers in 44 states accused since 2017, a later AP update) without isolating how many were criminally charged, convicted, or exonerated [2] [6] [1].
2. Party breakdowns are rarely separated in these datasets
The major datasets cited group Democrats and Republicans together. For example, the Associated Press and other outlets report totals of state lawmakers accused across both parties (AP: ~90; PBS: 147), and the Wikipedia list of federal political sex scandals lists specific cases but does not produce a modern, party‑segregated “charged” total for Democrats alone [2] [6] [4].
3. Examples of high‑profile Democrats cited in the reporting
Reporting and lists identify several prominent Democrats who faced allegations or investigations: former Sen. Al Franken resigned after misconduct accusations (Reuters/other outlets), Andrew Cuomo was found to have sexually harassed 11 women in an investigation and resigned as governor in 2021, and Mel Reynolds was convicted for statutory rape and resigned from Congress in 1995; Brock Adams faced multiple accusations though was not criminally prosecuted [3] [7] [4].
4. Distinguishing allegations, internal discipline, civil settlements and criminal charges
Sources make different distinctions: some items involve ethics probes or internal party discipline, others criminal indictments and convictions, and still others civil suits or defamation settlements tied to disputed allegations (for example, a Virginia Democrat’s defamation settlement after harassment allegations affected his campaign) [8] [9] [4]. The available material does not standardize those categories into a single numeric answer.
5. State legislatures show many incidents but mixed outcomes
Investigative pieces focused on state politics report hundreds of allegations: one report found “400 allegations of sexual harassment against 145 sitting state lawmakers between 2013 and 2024,” and state‑level tallies have prompted internal reforms and calls for accountability in both parties [7] [10]. Again, these counts combine parties and mix allegations with formal charges and resignations [7] [10].
6. Why you’ll get different numbers depending on the source
Different outlets count different things: “accused” vs. “charged” vs. “convicted”; federal vs. state offices; time windows (since #MeToo/2017 vs. longer historical lists); and whether the dataset separates party affiliation. Some lists (Newsweek, Ranker, Wikipedia) catalog names across decades, while AP/PBS/Reuters focus on modern waves of allegations and often aggregate both parties together [5] [11] [2] [6] [3].
7. What the sources do not provide (and limits you should expect)
Available sources do not provide a definitive, up‑to‑date count of how many Democrats specifically have been criminally charged for sexual misconduct. They also do not consistently specify the legal outcome (charge vs. indictment vs. conviction) when giving party‑combined tallies [2] [6] [1]. If you need a precise number for “Democrats charged,” that figure is not present in the provided reporting.
8. How to get a clearer answer (recommended next steps)
To produce a reliable number, a researcher must (a) define the scope (federal vs. state; time range; definition of “charged” vs “accused”), (b) assemble primary legal records (court filings, indictments) and contemporary news reports for each name, and (c) separate party affiliation and legal outcomes. The aggregated pieces here are useful starting points for names and trends but are insufficient as a final, party‑specific legal tally [2] [6] [4].
Sources cited above: Reuters/compilations on prominent figures [3], Wikipedia list of federal political sex scandals [4], Associated Press / AP‑style tallies of state lawmakers accused [2], PBS compilation updating AP findings [6], Newsweek/Ranker lists and other state‑level reporting and investigations [5] [11] [7] [1] [8].