Republican Nevada Senator John Ensign has announced he will not be running for reelection in 2012. This probably has something to do with that affair he had a while back:

In February, the Senate Ethics Committee named a special counsel to investigate claims that Ensign violated ethics rules and federal law in the aftermath of his affair with Cynthia Hampton, a campaign aide married to Douglas Hampton, another Ensign aide and close friend of the senator.

Ensign acknowledged the affair in 2009, after Douglas Hampton threatened to go public. The senator later acknowledged that his parents had paid Cynthia and Douglas Hampton $96,000 after Douglas Hampton left his job in the senator's office.

(UPDATE/CORRECTION: The second story, after the jump, is from a year ago. Apologies; I should've done a better job of checking the date.)

Slog tipper Ariane brought this to our attention: A very anti-gay Republican state senator named Roy Ashburn from California has, you guessed it, come out of the closet. He fought gay rights at every opportunity, even voting against a day of recognition for Harvey Milk.

Mr Ashburn said his votes reflected the way his constituents wanted him to vote, not his own "internal conflict".
"I am gay... those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long," the 55-year-old divorced father-of-four told KERN radio.
Mr Ashburn said he felt the need to address rumours that he had visited a gay nightclub before his arrest on suspicion of drinking and driving in Sacramento on 3 March.