Jack Ryan (Senate candidate)

This page is about the U.S. politician; for other uses, see Jack Ryan

Jack Ryan (born 1960) is a Republican politician from the state of Illinois. In 2004, he ran for the United States Senate, hoping to succeed retiring Republican Peter Fitzgerald. On 16 March 2004, he won the Republican primary, thus pairing him against Democrat Barack Obama. However, after reports of embarrassing allegations about Ryan's sexual past, he withdrew his candidacy on 25 June 2004 and officially filed the documentation to withdraw on 29 July.

Biography

In 2000, he left Goldman Sachs and taught at an inner-city Chicago parochial school called Hales Franciscan High School. Ryan has never held elected office.

Platform and campaign

In a controversial move, Ryan had Justin Warfel (a campaign worker) follow his opponent, Barack Obama, twenty four hours a day and record everything he did in public on videotape. Warfel did not follow Obama into his office, private residences, or the bathroom, but other than this he recorded Obama at all times. Warfel also heckled Obama by yelling questions at him in public. The tactic backfired when many people, including Ryan's supporters, criticized this activity. Ryan eventually withdrew Warfel but did not apologize. [1]

Demise of the campaign

On June 22, 2004, the judge in the case, which had been adjudicated in California, agreed to release the files. In them, Jeri Ryan claimed that her husband had taken her to sex clubs in New Orleans, New York City, and Paris where he asked her to perform sexual activities with him in front of other attendees of the clubs. Jeri Ryan described one as "a bizarre club with cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling."

Ryan denied the allegations immediately, calling them "ridiculous" and accusing her of trying to libel him with the accusations, which he labeled "smut", and trying to sabotage his political career. He also vowed to stay in the race. However, after a lack of support from Republican party leadership for his campaign, and even some calls for him to step down, Ryan withdrew from the race on June 25, 2004.

Before the Republican primary election, state party chairwoman Judy Baar Topinka asked Ryan if there was anything embarrassing in the files; he replied that there was not. Republican Representative Ray LaHood called on Ryan to drop out of the race. By June 25, Dennis Hastert, another prominent Illinois Republican (and the House Speaker) had "made some calls", according to anonymous sources reported in the Daily Southtown, and the consensus was for Ryan to step aside. The Southtown newspaper also reported that Ryan was expected to step aside. One of the factors--aside from the sex club allegations--was the belief that Ryan had misled the Republican leadership.

After the resignation, Republican leaders caucused to replace Ryan on the party ticket. Many potential candidates refused the seat, citing lack of money and almost certain loss to the immensely popular Obama, late entry and being perceived as a second choice. Businessman James Oberweis, who finished second behind Ryan in the party primary, repeatedly mentioned himself as a possible successor, citing his willingness to spend his own personal fortune, rather than sap money from the state party; however, Oberweis' attacks on illegal immigration were controversial within the party, as President George W. Bush had formally endorsed a liberalization of immigration policies (despite the anti-immigration stand of earlier Republican officials) partially in an attempt to appeal to Hispanic voters. They also considered Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka (who declined to run) and Andrea Barthwell, a Chicago physician and former Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (who announced she would like the nomination). Illinois Republicans eventually narrowed the field to Barthwell and conservative statesman and politician Alan Keyes. In what was widely perceived as a victory for the conservative wing of the party, they offered Keyes the nomination on August 4, 2004. In an effort to promote his conservative issue agenda, Keyes accepted the offer on August 8, but went on to lose the race by the largest margin of any candidate in Illinois history.