Scandal-Scarred John Ensign to Retire

John Ensign will announce that he is not running for reelection in 2012 at an afternoon press conference in Las Vegas, sources tell Roll Call. Republicans have been leaning on the Nevada senator to retire, on the assumption that his much-discussed extramarital dalliances would prove a distraction. Rep. Dean Heller had signaled that he might challenge Ensign in a primary, and he's now expected to run for the seat.

Ensign had previously insisted that he would run again, but he didn't exactly encounter a groundswell of support; there was literally only one person willing to donate to his campaign. (More John Ensign stories.)