After declaring himself the winner in Tennessee's 4th Congressional District primary race, Rep. Scott DesJarlais became a case study of how a scandal-plagued campaign can still lead to victory.

While Sen. John Walsh bowed out of the Montana race over allegations that he plagiarized a large portion of his master's degree paper, DesJarlais, who had been at the center of a sex scandal, finished his campaign with a tiny lead over Sen. Jim Tracy.

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DesJarlais' win, despite the verdict that some had already laid upon him, can be explained by many factors.

Among them is the fact that DesJarlais' sex scandal, which included allegations of marital infidelity and abortions, came to light in 2012, whereas Walsh's plagiarism issue surfaced just two weeks before the election.

After making the headlines two years ago, DesJarlais' indiscretions became the subject of a long public discussion, saturating the interest of voters.

That also means DesJarlais had more time to defend himself, while Walsh had little opportunity to respond to the plagiarism allegations, which can also ruin a candidate's chances of winning an election.

Campaign analysts say the plagiarism scandal that hit Walsh was not that harsh but the way his camp handled the situation was different from how DesJarlais dealt with his own debacle.

DesJarlais, accused of encouraging his former wife to get an abortion twice while objecting to it publicly, and having affairs with patients, addressed the issues by making a public statement claiming that God had forgiven him, and asking his fellow Christians to do the same.

Another factor that affected the election result is the fact that DesJarlais ran as an incumbent.

The Republican contender had been elected twice, in 2010 and 2012.

His victories reflect the trust that the voters have in his leadership regardless of the issues thrown at him.

With that, experts say, the bottom line is voters decide which politician should get elected and it is up to the candidate to earn those votes, which DesJarlais did successfully.

TagsDesjarlais, John Walsh