Political sex scandals are costly. They're embarrassing, stressful, emotionally draining and time consuming. And they can run constituents anywhere from $700,000 to $1 million. That's how much it costs to hold a special election to replace a Congressman chased from office for doing something dumb. New Yorkers know what we're talking about. The search for Rep. Anthony Weiner's replacement will be the state's third special election since 2010 that resulted from some kind of sex scandal, notes Politico's Ben Smith. He points to reports on New York's past two politicians shamed into early retirement, Eric Massa and Chris Lee. Based on the precedent set by those two special elections, Anthony Weiner's sexting could cost New Yorkers between $700,000 and $1 million.

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Caitlin Dickson