Berkley has maintained she did nothing wrong, that she intervened to help patients in her state rather than her spouse’s medical practice. But the allegations have dogged Berkley throughout her race against Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV).
On Tuesday, Heller defeated Berkley by a margin of just more than 1 percent, in one of the tightest Senate races of the cycle.
Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) - Won
Andrews came under the scrutiny of the House Ethics Committee for allegedly using money from his congressional campaign and a leadership PAC to cover the cost of a family trip to Scotland, to fly his daughter to Los Angeles, and to pay for her high school graduation party. A report from the Office of Congressional Ethics said that his wife, a lawyer who serves as a volunteer compliance officer, signed off on the expenditures.
Andrews, 55, easily beat Republican challenger Gregory Horton on Tuesday in the 1st District of New Jersey, a safely Democratic seat in southern part of the state. The Ethics Committee announced in late August that it would continue to investigate the allegations against Andrews, but it did not take the step of forming an investigative subcommittee. Andrews, who has been in office since 1990, has claimed he met all of the standards of the House of Representatives.
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) - Won
The ongoing House Ethics Committee review of sexual harassment allegations against the 76-year-old Hastings doesn’t mark the first time the Florida Democrat has faced ethical problems. In 1989, long before he was elected to Congress, Hastings was one of the few federal judges ever impeached by the U.S. Senate. One of the eight impeachment articles against him alleged that he conspired to obtain a $150,000 bribe.
Hastings has avoided a full House Ethics Committee probe of the sexual harassment allegations against him, but officials said in January they would continue to review the matter. Hastings had been sued by a former staffer of the Helsinki Commission, independent agency he co-chaired. The female staffer alleged that Hastings made unwanted sexual advances on her and threatened to fire her when she rebuffed him. A judge ruled earlier this year that the suit could continue against the commission but could not continue against the congressman.
On Tuesday, Hastings cruised to victory over an independent in his overwhelmingly Democratic district. He had no Republican opponent.
Disclosure: Ryan Reilly worked as an unpaid intern in Rep. Andrews’ office in the fall of 2006.
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