Ensign will not seek another term in Senate
By Karoun Demirjian, Las Vegas Sun
Republican Sen. John Ensign won’t be trying to reclaim his U.S. Senate seat in 2012.
Ensign made the announcement today during a noon news conference at the Lloyd George Federal Courthouse in Las Vegas. He isn’t resigning his seat — simply not pursuing his re-election in 2012.
John Ensign
He said he came to the decision in the last week or so, adding that a Senate Ethics Committee investigation had “zero effect” on the decision not to seek re-election.
“I just came to the conclusion that I couldn’t put my family through this,” he said.
Ensign, whose name was once being tossed about for a presidential run, ran aground politically in 2009 when he announced he had an affair with Cynthia Hampton, a campaign aide whose husband, Doug Hampton, had been Ensign deputy chief of staff.