Are convicted felons allowed to run for the US Senate? Recall his sentence was merely commuted, he did not get a pardon.
Yes. It's considered a point to keep people from trying to get their opponents convicted of something stupid then disqualified.
Unless charges are pressed for something new/unknown at the time of election, they can't even really be removed from office for it.
Otherwise people with charges stemming from things like political protests would be disallowed, and do you want people like Martin Luther King Jr. being DQ'd?
The voters get to decide whether to elect a convicted criminal or not. The democrats have done it many times. Heck, so haven't the republicans.