Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) says he plans to run for reelection in 2012, despite being dogged by a sex-and-cover-up scandal since June.
Recent fundraising reports show that Ensign might be the only one who thinks running again is a good idea. In the third fundraising quarter, Ensign banked just $33,000 — a low number for any incumbent senator and a huge drop compared to his normally gold-plated FEC filings.
Politico reports on the magnitude of the drop in earnings:
[T]hat’s down from the $301,792 he raised in the previous quarter. He spent more than he raised last quarter, shelling out $46,000 on legal fees, meetings, political consultants and administrative expenses.
Who’s still giving to Ensign? For the most part, not lobbyists. More from Politico:
Most of Ensign’s contributions since news of the affair broke came from individual donors, although he did receive $1,000 from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in September, just as the Senate Finance Committee – on which he sits — was considering its health care bill.
