Sen. John Ensign, the Nevada Republican who for the past two years was shadowed by revelations of an extramarital affair with a staffer, announced Monday that he will not seek a third term in 2012. Ensign’s decision left Republicans breathing a sign of relief because it clears the way for the favored GOP candidate, Rep. Dean Heller, who recently said he was seriously considering running for the seat. Heller will now almost certainly jump in the race.
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“This must have been a very difficult decision for John to make,” Heller said Monday.
The shuffle to replace Ensign could also open the door to a congressional run by the Silver State’s top Tea Party favorite, Sharron Angle, who state political observers believe could replace Heller in the House.
“I think in a contested Republican primary, she is the frontrunner,” Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston told The Washington Examiner.
Angle took the GOP field by storm last year when she came from behind to win Nevada’s Senate Republican primary. Despite promising poll numbers, however, she failed decisively in her bid to oust Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat.
“Sen. Ensign made a heartfelt decision for his family today,” Angle said Monday on Twitter. “Nevadans are thankful for his service and I wish him well.”
The GOP considered Ensign’s the weakest of 10 seats they must defend in the 2012 elections. Indeed, his chances of winning re-election were considered slim to none by most political analysts.
Heller conducted an internal statewide poll in February and found he was leading Ensign by 15 points.
Ensign’s political downfall began in 2009 when he confessed to an affair with staffer Cynthia Hampton, the wife of Ensign’s deputy chief of staff, Doug Hampton. Ensign then admitted that his parents paid the Hamptons $96,000 after the affair ended.
The Senate ethics panel in February appointed special counsel to examine whether Ensign broke Senate rules by helping Doug Hampton secure a lobbying job and clients.
Despite his political troubles, Ensign had been insisting he would run again and has been raising campaign cash. Ensign had once been a GOP leader in the Senate and at one time was considered a potential presidential contender.
But on Monday, Ensign told voters he was dropping out to avoid the trauma of a difficult campaign.
“I do not want to put my family, those that I care about, or this state through what would be a very ugly campaign that would ultimately cause a great deal more pain than has already been felt as a result of my actions,” Ensign said.
Ralston said the Republican Party didn’t exactly push Ensign out of the race, though it played a major role in his decision.
“They were giving him the cold shoulder,” Ralston told The Examiner. “They were going to do nothing for him. It was obvious they wanted him to get out. They had anointed Heller privately.”
