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Scandal-Plagued Mahoney Goes Down to Defeat

p>Florida Rep. Tim Mahoney (D) — who admitted to having multiple extramarital affairs in October — became the first Democratic incumbent to lose re-election Tuesday night.

Mahoney, who won the seat of disgraced ex-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) in 2006, was defeated by attorney Tom Rooney (R), whose family is heir to the Pittsburgh Steelers fortune.

With 49 percent of precincts reporting, The Associated Press had called the race for Rooney, who was ahead 60 percent to 40 percent.

Mahoney was already being targeted for defeat when details of the freshman’s affair with a former campaign staffer — and his attempts to keep it quiet — came to light in October. After it became public, national Democrats essentially wrote off Mahoney’s re-election chances and cut off resources to help him win a second term.

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