[John]

Sen. Jack Ryan, that's the guy. No angel himself.

Ryan hoped to succeed retiring Republican Peter Fitzgerald in the United States Senate. On March 16, 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 June 25, 2004, and officially filed the documentation to withdraw on July 29, 2004.

Controversially, in 2004, 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 or private residences, but he recorded Obama at all other 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].