In Oklahoma, a state senator was charged with sexual battery after a female Uber driver said he tried to kiss her. In California, a state assemblyman was accused of following a lobbyist into a restroom and masturbating in front of her. And in Minnesota, a lobbyist said a state representative repeatedly propositioned her, including by sending a text that read: “Would it frighten you if I said that I was just interested in good times good wine good food and good sex?”

These and other allegations of sexual misconduct led to resignations by nearly a dozen state and federal lawmakers in recent months, setting off a flurry of special elections around the country to fill seats suddenly left open by the #MeToo reckoning.

Yet the candidates running to replace these disgraced men — many of whom are women — are hesitating to put sexual harassment front and center as an issue in their campaigns. In at least eight state legislative and two congressional races, including special elections in Minnesota and Oklahoma that were held last week, the subject has rarely been mentioned in advertisements, rallies or when knocking on doors.

“You get an eye roll and that’s it,” said Tami Donnally, a Republican running to fill a Florida State Senate seat on April 10 after the resignation last year of Jeff Clements, a powerful Democrat who admitted to an affair with a lobbyist. Ms. Donnally, vice-chairwoman of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County, said voters shrug off the issue: “‘Oh well, another one bites the dust, let’s move on, tell me what you’re interested in.’”