There are several explanations that could account for this discrepancy between male and female politicians.

First, of course, is the matter of numbers. Men far outnumber women in elected office, and statistical probability dictates that if a random politician is caught in a sex scandal, it is overwhelmingly likely that the politician would be male…

Others say the complicated relationship between sex and power is apt to play a role.

“I guess men in power are terribly attractive to some women, but I don’t think that women in power are attractive to some men,” said former Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-Colo.), who was co-chairwoman of Gary Hart’s scandal-plagued presidential campaign in 1988…

Others say women in high-power careers are so overloaded already that affairs are an unlikely possibility.