“The Iraq war hurt Republican candidates in the midterm elections, but corruption and scandal were bigger problems for them,” wrote Time magazine; “Three-fourths of voters said corruption and scandal were important to their votes.”

CNN exit-poll interviewers asked voters in close to 1 000 precincts to “describe themselves and their opinions on important issues.” CNN reported that “when asked which issue was extremely important to their vote, more voters said corruption and ethics in government than any other issue”.

The International Herald Tribune listed various scandals from the last two years as contributing to public fears of corruption, including the “influence-peddling scandal tied to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff”. These, wrote the International Herald Tribune, allowed the Democrats to claim that “the Republican-led house had lost its ethical bearings”.