On Election Day, many voters across the country will be forced to decide whether to elect ethically and criminally challenged candidates as they juggle their political and moral priorities.
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they → force → priorities
From adultery to abuse accusations to criminal indictments, a number of candidates on both sides of the aisle managed to survive their primaries or had scandals emerge afterward, creating a dilemma for voters.
Here are some of the most scandalous pols on the ballot Nov. 3:
Max Miller
Ohio Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) is facing accusations that he abused his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno, shoving her during a Feb. 1 custody exchange this year, and dumping hot water on her in 2024.
There are also fears that he may have been responsible for his 2-year-old daughter’s broken collarbone.
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he → manage → collarbone
Miller has vehemently denied the accusations, which came to light in his nasty custody fight with Emily.
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which → deny → Emily
Details about the accusations spilled out just before the primary he breezed through in May, but became much more prevalent later on.
Miller previously faced abuse accusations from former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham and had been arrested for driving under the influence when he was in college.
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he → spill → college
His district, which voted for President Trump by 11 points in 2024, is now seen as a toss-up.
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which → vote → up
Ken Paxton
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has long been haunted by a string of scandals, including cheating on his wife, a securities fraud indictment in 2015, accusations of giving preferential treatment to a donor, allegations of misappropriating public resources, and more.
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Paxton → haunt → resources
Paxton was impeached by the GOP-led Texas state House in 2023 and narrowly escaped conviction by the state Senate.
“Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) had her DC home raided by the feds on Columbus Day and is believed to be facing a federal probe into whether or not she fibbed about her age on paperwork to become a US citizen.
Ilhan Omar's <em>relative </em>timeline
Significant dates into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s past relationships, which point to a potential sham marriage with her brother.
1981 or 1982— Ilhan Omar is born in Mogadishu, Somalia.
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Omar → impeach → Mogadishu
Her birth year is in dispute — there are allegations she made herself a year younger to later qualify for citizenship as a minor.
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herself → be → minor
1995— After four years in a refugee camp in Kenya because of the Somalian civil war, Omar and her family emigrate to the US.
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Omar → emigrate → US
2002 — Omar marries Ahmed Hirsi (right) in an Islamic ceremony.
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Omar → marry → ceremony
They applied for a marriage license, but, she said, “we never finalized the application and thus were never legally married.”
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we → apply → application
They have two children.
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They → have → children
2009 — Omar marries Ahmed Nur Said Elmi.
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Omar → marry → Elmi
Evidence points to Elmi being her brother, and that she married him so he could legally live in the US after the family wanted him out of the UK.
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family → point → UK
2012 — Omar still lived with Hirsi during this time, witnesses told the Post, and they had a third child this year.
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they → live → child
Elmi also reportedly leaves Minnesota this year.
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Elmi → leave → Minnesota
2016 — The FBI and Department of Homeland Security investigate claims Omar married her brother, as she runs for Minnesota’s legislature.
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she → investigate → legislature
2017 — Omar’s divorce from Elmi is finalized.
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divorce → finalize → Elmi
2018 — Omar officially marries Hirsi.
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Omar → marry → Hirsi
She runs for Congress for the first time and wins.
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She → run → time
2019 — Omar leaves Hirsi for Tim Mynett (left), a political consultant who is paid by her campaign.
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who → leave → campaign
They marry the next year.
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They → marry → ?
2021 — A Biden-appointed US Attorney in Minnesota officially shuts down the investigation into Omar’s alleged immigration fraud.
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Attorney → appoint → fraud
In 2000, her father obtained his citizenship, and she piggybacked off that under the pretense that she was 17 years old.
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she → obtain → pretense
Trump administration officials are apparently investigating whether she was actually 18 at the time, meaning she wouldn’t have been eligible for citizenship.
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she → investigate → citizenship
Feds are also looking into whether she married her brother.
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she → look → brother
Omar has denied both accusations and claimed that she is the victim of government weaponization due to her politics.
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she → deny → politics
Last year, Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) was charged with trying to block authorities from arresting Newark Mayor Ras Baraka during an oversight trip to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in that city.
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McIver → charge → city
She was charged with assaulting, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement.
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She → charge → enforcement
McIver claimed to have turned down a plea deal with the feds and has since pleaded not guilty.
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McIver → claim → feds
Her attempts to dismiss the case were rejected, including by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
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attempts → dismiss → Circuit
Similar to Omar, McIver has contended that she is the victim of government weaponization.
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she → contend → weaponization
Henry Cuellar
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who represents a competitive district on the outskirts of San Antonio, was indicted on bribery, money laundering, and conspiracy accusations for allegedly taking $600,000 from the Azerbaijani government and a bank.
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who → represent → government
Prosecutors alleged the money was funneled to Cuellar through a complex network of shell companies in exchange for influencing his position on a key subcommittee regarding Azerbaijan.
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money → allege → Azerbaijan
In a stunning move, Trump pardoned him in December of last year, though the president later expressed regret that Cuellar didn’t become a Republican in return.
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Cuellar → pardon → return
Cuellar has denied wrongdoing.
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Cuellar → deny → wrongdoing
Latin Grammy winner Bobby Pulido has been haunted by revelations of his raunchy social media history in which he has made sexually suggestive posts about women.
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he → haunt → women
“I want a photo of your tit signed by @grupo_pesado,” Pulido wrote in Spanish at one point on X in 2014.
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Pulido → want → 2014
Pulido has defended the many past sordid posts as jokes that didn’t survive Google Translate.
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that → defend → Translate
He also faced controversy over his ties to his longtime former bandmate Frankie Caballero, who was convicted of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl in 2014.
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who → face → 2014
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
