Las Vegas Sun: Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., announced today that he will retire at the end of his term and not seek re-election in 2012.
"This campaign would be exceptionally ugly," he said this afternoon at a news conference in Las Vegas. "I just came to the conclusion I couldn't put my family through it."
More likely, Ensign realized what most in Washington and Nevada already knew: that his chances for re-election were nearly non-existent.
Once considered a hot political commodity, Ensign fell from grace in 2009 when he announced he had an affair with his best friend's wife. His parents paid the couple, who both worked for Ensign, nearly $100,000 after the affair was discovered, and Ensign helped the woman's husband, Doug Hampton, find a job. [MORE]Yes, his reason is complete BS. If this guy was remotely concerned about putting his family through the ringer, he never would have cheated with his wife's best friend. No doubt he realized he had a snowball's chance in hell of winning, so he is packing it in.
Ensign's resignation should improve an already rosy picture for Republicans to take back the Senate in 2012.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: Las Vegas Sun
Via: The Hill