BOSTON (AP) — Scandal-plagued Democratic U.S. Rep. John Tierney fended off a fierce challenge from Republican Richard Tisei to win re-election.

Tierney, who’s from Salem and first took office in 1996, struggled to contain the fallout from a federal criminal case involving his wife and her family. His wife agreed in October 2010 to plead guilty to federal charges she helped her brothers conceal an illegal offshore gambling operation. She was sentenced to 30 days behind bars.