Ill. GOP Scrambles for Senate Candidate

[GreenPartyVoter]

CHICAGO (AP) - Republican Jack Ryan's exit from the Illinois Senate race amid embarrassing sex club allegations leaves his party scrambling to find that golden candidate who could enter the contest as an underdog and in just four months raise the cash and recognition needed to win.

Ryan dropped out of the race Friday, four days after the records from his divorce from actress Jeri Ryan were unsealed.

Her allegations that he had taken her to sex clubs and tried to pressure her to perform sex acts in front of people drew jeers from late-night comedians, who joked that it gave new meaning to the family values party, and sharp criticism from party leaders, some saying Ryan had misled them about how damaging the records might be.

"It's clear to me that a vigorous debate on the issues most likely could not take place if I remain in the race," Ryan, 44, said in the written statement announcing his departure. "What would take place, rather, is a brutal, scorched-earth campaign - the kind of campaign that has turned off so many voters, the kind of politics I refuse to play."

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040626/D83EOS8G0.html