In recent days, after the New York Times reported on Ensign's efforts to silence his mistress' husband, Doug Hampton, the Senate ethics committee launched an investigation and talk surfaced of a possible FBI inquiry.
Ensign has said he won't resign, and Nevada's GOP is widely considered too emasculated to push him out. Regardless of what voters think -- Ensign's approval rating in August was a dismal 30% -- they can't weigh in until 2012.
So instead Ensign has, for a time, become a player in two of next year's highest-profile races.
Nevada's political elite -- including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat -- is struggling with whether to stand by its man. Last week alone, liberals castigated Reid for staying out of the Ensign fray and one of Reid's potential challengers, Sue Lowden, for defending him.
As long as Ensign's woes keep making headlines, candidates will be asked to comment on his travails. In a state with fewer residents than Orange County and only a few major campaign donors, there are risks to either embracing or ignoring the onetime GOP golden boy.
Nevada has turned into (more) of a shithole, both economically and politically.
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