Has This Ever Happened In The World Of Politics?

Okay, suppose there are two opposing candidates left for an election of some sort. What if one candidate got so desparate for power that they decided to play dirty by running campaign advertisements that slandered themselves and as a result, made their opponents look so bad and immoral that they won? If you still don't understand let me clarify, if one party makes advertisements that claim to be in support of the other candidate, and make slanderous, impolite, mudslinging comments about themselves, would (did) they win the election by making their opponents appear unfair and uncivil?