You Can’t Fix Stupid

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Humans make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes go viral and play out horribly for a political campaign. Here’s our comprehensive list of the biggest political candidate fails. #RaiseTheMoney

  1. Marion Berry – The “Mayor for Life” was famously caught up in an FBI sting operation after he allegedly smoked crack cocaine in a Washington, D.C., hotel room on January 18, 1990. This incident didn’t sway voters from electing him to another four-year term as mayor in 1994. Berry also served on the city council from 2005 until his death in 2014.
  2.  Kwame Kilpatrick – When the city of Detroit elected Kwame Kilpatrick as mayor, they hoped they were electing a mayor who would put a stop to all the corruption. Unfortunately, Kilpatrick made it a priority to pour gasoline on the wildfire that was already burning in Detroit. Kilpatrick was convicted in March of 2013 on two-dozen counts that included charges of racketeering and extortion. Kilpatrick is one of 18 city officials who have been convicted of corruption during their tenure. He is currently serving a 28-year prison term.
  3.  Rob Ford – After video had previously surfaced that showed Toronto Mayor Rob Ford allegedly smoking crack cocaine, Ford admitted on November 5, 2013, to smoking crack “probably in one of my drunken stupors.” On April 30, 2014, a second video of Ford smoking crack emerged. Ford was also accused of sexual harassment while he served as mayor, and in May of 2014, he took a leave of absence to enter a drug rehabilitation program.
  4.  Anthony Weiner – Apparently you only need 140 characters to end your political career. In 2011, while serving as a congressman, Anthony Weiner sent a waist-down photo to a 21-year-old college student in Seattle. The photo was deleted and Weiner stated that his Twitter account had been hacked. Additional explicit photos and messages later surfaced, and Weiner admitted to having “inappropriate” exchanges with six women before and after getting married. On June 16, 2011, Weiner officially resigned from Congress. Weiner later ran for mayor of New York City in 2013. That comeback ended abruptly when Weiner was caught again sending explicit photos to women who weren’t his wife.