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UPDATE, 5:55 p.m.: Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has acknowledged an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer in a statement released by his office. "I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions," said Ensign....

<p>Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) has acknowledged an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer in a statement released by his office. "I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions," said Ensign. He is expected to announce the affair at a press conference at 6:30 pm tonight. The affair, which was with a woman who worked for both Ensign's re-election campaign and his Battle Born leadership political action committee, began in December 2007 and ended in August 2008. Ensign's wife, Darlene, said that the couple's "marriage has become stronger" and added: "I love my husband."</p>

Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign has told colleagues that he plans to admit an extramarital affair, a senior Republican official tells POLITICO. Political insiders in the Senate and in Nevada told POLITICO that Ensign began an affair with a staffer several months after he separated from his wife. When Ensign reconciled with his wife, the sources said, he gave the aide a severance package and parted ways. Sometime later, a Nevada source said, Ensign met with the husband of the woman involved and had what this source described as a positive encounter. Sources said that the man subsequently asked Ensign...

SIOUX CITY - U.S. Sen. John Ensign, a conservative Republican from Nevada, said Monday in Sioux City his party can appeal to women and minorities on educational choice. "This is an issue we can actually take back," Ensign said. Stirring speculation about a potential presidential run in 2012 the telegenic, silver-haired veterinarian spoke to more than 100 people in attendance for an American Future Fund lecture at the main library in downtown Sioux City. Earlier in the day Ensign toured the Blue Bunny ice cream plant in Le Mars and Trans Ova Genetics in Sioux Center. Before he entered politics,...

WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. John Ensign said Friday that even if military detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are not charged with any crimes, they should remain at the military detention facility and can be held there until the war against terrorism ends. Ensign acknowledged that the Guantanamo facility is not helpful for the United States’ standing overseas, especially in Middle Eastern and European countries. But after returning from a congressional day-trip to the camp on Friday, Ensign argued that the terror suspects are being treated well and are too dangerous to be transferred to facilities in the U.S. “They are...

Nevada Senator's June Trip Is Raising Talk Of 2012 Sen. John Ensign's June 1 trip to Iowa is looking more and more like a day straight out of a White House hopeful's itinerary, a sign that the 2012 campaign is already under way in the Hawkeye State, which hosts the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. The Nevada Republican is flying into Sioux Falls on the last day of the Memorial Day recess before a four-week work period in Congress. He has three stops scheduled before he heads back to the nation's capital: an address on behalf of the American Future Fund's conservative...

A trade group representing finance executives and treasurers wants Congress to cut the tax rate multinational corporations pay when they tap cash held by foreign subsidiaries. Such a move could help companies hurt by tight credit markets, giving them an alternative source of liquidity, the group said. “Allowing firms to repatriate funds and bring back foreign earnings into the U.S. will free up much needed working capital for U.S. companies,” said Jim Kaitz, the CEO of the Association for Financial Professionals, the organization behind the letter, in a statement. Mr. Kaitz cited a similar tax break enacted in 2004, which...

Ensign is doing everything right lately, and as a result he is making all the right enemies. Recently, Ensign again angered just about every Democrat in D.C. by actually trying to keep people in their homes while creating a springboard for new buyers to enter the market. He proposed reducing the mortgage interest rate to between 4-4.5% for those who qualify. This would have had tremendous impact on the housing market in a positive way, but the Democrats showed they clearly are not on the side of fixing housing. Today Ensign has continued to anger everyone who is on board...

John Ensign said a lot yesterday in a very small number of words: The Senate Republicans' top fundraiser Thursday said he is telling colleagues this is a bad year for members of his party to be up for election."I'm telling them if you have an 'R' in front of your name, you better run scared," said Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). [...]Mr. Ensign dismissed reports that contributions to the Republicans by disgruntled small donors are down this year. He maintained the party's contributor base is intact. The Republican Party long has boasted...

Mr. Ensign dismissed reports that contributions to the Republicans by disgruntled small donors are down this year. He maintained the party's contributor base is intact. The Republican Party long has boasted that it is the party of small donors while the Democratic Party has had to rely far more on wealthy contributors to finance election campaigns. He said the Republican Party never suffered a loss in small donors, only a shrinkage in the net amount of money raised - a decline that he said was not the result of small donors being disgusted with excessive Republican spending in Congress but...

One of the most inhospitable places in the country, Coyote Springs Valley is so barren that, until recently, its best use was thought to be as a weapons test range. Yet the valley — an hour northeast of Las Vegas — is on its way to becoming a real estate development of historic proportions, with as many as 159,000 homes, 16 golf courses and a full complement of stores and service facilities. At nearly 43,000 acres, Coyote Springs covers almost twice as much space as the next-largest development in a state famous for outsized building projects. Helping make Coyote Springs...

Nevada Sen. John Ensign says Democratic leaders who criticize the Iraq war are aiding the terrorists and hampering the war effort. "Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy - let me tell you, I say this without reservation - they have hurt our military, they have emboldened the enemy," Ensign told Republicans gathered for the state party convention on Saturday. "They're fighting for the freedom of speech, they're fighting for the right to protest, they're fighting for all those things. But when we are at war, especially the leaders in this country need to be very, very careful of...

At an informal press conference during the state Democratic Party convention a week ago, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid took questions with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the keynote speaker. Just behind Reid stood Jack Carter, son of former President Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party's best hope of unseating Nevada's other U.S. senator, a Republican. When a question about health care policy came up, Carter started to make a point, until he was cut off by Reid. "OK, Jack, we're doing the press conference, OK?" Reid said in a tone a parent would reserve for an insubordinate child. In...

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Democrat Jack Carter, son of former President Jimmy Carter, is trailing badly in his bid to oust U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., a Las Vegas Review-Journal poll shows. Sixty percent of the 625 voters surveyed last week said they favored Ensign in the contest, while 27 percent said they would vote for Carter. Thirteen percent were undecided. Republican operative Sig Rogich said Ensign is popular and it isn't likely that Carter can succeed in trying to tie the incumbent to controversies involving Republicans in Washington, D.C., and to President Bush's unpopularity. Brad Coker, managing partner...

Last week, Senator Arlen Specter declared the death of a conservative Republican Party. After the Senate approved an amendment he offered to bust the budget by $7 billion for more domestic spending, Specter rejoiced. The Pennsylvania Republican bragged to reporters, “The Republican Party is now principally moderate, if not liberal!” Specter’s comments may be truer than many Republicans would like to admit. But conservatives in the Senate have not disappeared. There are some left, like the junior Senator from Nevada, John Ensign. Ensign has always been a conservative. Elected to the House of Representatives as part of the fabled and...

Tue Feb 7, 1:35 AM ET Democrat Jack Carter, 58, the son of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, smiles at an event in Carson City, Nevada February 6, 2006, where he formally announced a run for the U.S. Senate in his first bid for elected office. (Adam Tanner/Reuters)CARSON CITY, Nevada (Reuters) - Democrat Jack Carter, 58, the son of former President Jimmy Carter formally announced a run for the U.S. Senate on Monday in his first bid for elected office. With his parents sharing a stage in the Nevada capital, Carter invoked many of the same themes his father used...

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) -- Democrat Jack Carter, the son of the former president, kicked off his U.S. Senate campaign Monday by calling for a return to "our American values." Carter, a 58-year-old investment consultant in Las Vegas, is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. John Ensign in his first bid for elected office. "The singular difference between the junior senator and me is he works for the Bush administration and I want to work for Nevada," Carter said at a union hall outside Las Vegas, accompanied by his parents, former President Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter. "Common sense, honesty, integrity and...

Senator Ensign in Car Accident Jan 30, 2006, 12:03 PM EST Senator John Ensign was transported to the hospital this morning following a car accident. The accident happened before 8 a.m. near Paradise and Sands. Police say the driver of a Jeep swerved into Ensign's lane hitting his vehicle head on. Ensign's vehicle was also rear ended by another car. Ensign was a passenger. His personal assistant was driving and also transported to the hospital. Both are said to not have life threatening injuries.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is in a strong position for re-election, according to the head of the Republican Senate campaign committee, who dismissed an expected challenge by Democrat Jack Carter by saying he hasn't proved he's a "legitimate candidate." Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, passed up a chance to comment on the possibility that Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman might challenge Ensign, saying she'd wait until he makes a move. Ensign "is a strong member of the United States Senate. He's very effective, I think standing strong," Dole said at a media briefing on...

Nevada's senators distanced themselves Tuesday from lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to charges of influence peddling while agreeing to give authorities information for a widening corruption probe of Congress. Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign said neither they nor their aides have been questioned nor contacted by Justice Department investigators digging into allegations that Abramoff steered campaign donations and expensive perks to lawmakers in exchange for official acts. Neither Senator Reid nor anyone on staff is under investigation or has received any notice" from prosecutors, Reid spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said. Reid said at a news conference in Carson City...