Sources: Ryan To Quit Senate Race

Illinois Republican candidate Jack Ryan intends to abandon his Senate bid after four days spent trying to weather a political storm stirred by sex club allegations, GOP officials said Friday.

A formal announcement was expected within hours, said these officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ryan conducted an overnight poll to gauge his support in the wake of the allegations made by his ex-wife in divorce records unsealed earlier this week. Aides said in advance his only options were to withdraw or to redouble his campaign efforts with a massive infusion of money from his personal wealth.

Illinois GOP leaders would select another candidate in the event of a withdrawal. Ryan's replacement would become an instant underdog in a campaign against Democratic State Sen. Barack Obama.

The Chicago Tribune said former State Board of Education Chairman Ron Gidwitz is the leading contender to replace Ryan, according to GOP sources.

Well-educated, articulate and glamorous-looking, Ryan was considered the GOP's best hope for reinvigorating an Illinois Republican Party demoralized by a corruption scandal and devastating 2002 election losses.

But those hopes were dashed in lurid fashion this week with the unsealing of divorce papers in which Ryan's ex-wife, "Boston Public" actress Jeri Ryan, alleged that Ryan took her to swingers clubs and tried to get her to have sex with him while others watched.

At least one Republican congressman has asked him to withdraw, several major newspapers have called on him to step aside or questioned his honesty, and the late-night comics are snickering. (Jay Leno: "Jack Ryan, I've heard of going after the `swing vote,' but this is ridiculous!")

In the court documents, Jeri Ryan, the blond actress who played a cyborg in a skintight outfit in "Star Trek: Voyager," said her husband took her on surprise trips to New Orleans, New York and Paris and insisted she go to sex clubs with him on each trip.

The 44-year-old Harvard-educated Jack Ryan disputed the allegations, saying in court papers: "We did go to one avant-garde nightclub in Paris which was more than either one of us felt comfortable with. We left and vowed never to return."

For his part, Obama, the Democratic candidate, has avoided talking about the allegations, saying he wants to stick to the issues. Even before the GOP campaign took its embarrassing turn, Obama held a wide lead over Ryan for the Senate seat held by retiring Republican Peter Fitzgerald.

The GOP cannot force Ryan off the ballot. But if he drops out before Aug. 27, the party can put up a new candidate.