I think it is more that people got behind the guy, because he was the candidate. They wanted to keep the seat, even with personal reservations or disagreements in things he did in his capacity as judge.
Most people thought the charges of wrongdoing were bogus, but they still saw him as creepy-ish.
Well of course they did! That is the primary goal of a smear campaign made up of unproven allegations... make the sheeple feel like the target of the allegations is “creepy-ish”.