PT5.S1.Q21- Political Scandal

Svitale14m

I got this wrong both in time and BR, but now I think I understand the reasoning. Can someone out there confirm or correct my logic?

Stim: 1. if scandal occurs and voters' blame is shared across 1 or more parties then incumbents are re-elected
2. if scandal occurs and voters' blame is on 1 party, then regardless of who challenges, incumbents are not re-elected
3. Independent of the presence of scandals, incumbents run at similar rates.

Ques: whats the principle which accounts for this?

Ans: (E) Admin Note: I deleted Answer Choice E as it is against our Forum Rules to post the Answer Choices on the Forum.
Ans trans: If blame is shared across multiple parties then it is the fault of individuals not of the party, but if one party gets the blame then party ought to pay price (ie not re-electing it's incumbents).

Thanks in advance for the help!

Ashley2018-1

I didn't find the third fact given in the stimulus to be helpful or relevant in getting the answer lol.
1.) When voters blame all parties equally for scandals, incumbents from both are reelected
2.) When voters blame one party in particular, incumbents from that party tend to be defeated by opposition from other parties.
E tells us that when a particular party is perceived as more responsible for major political scandals, the party perceived to be responsible is penalized (incumbents from said party are voted out)