The radioactive man

Sen. John Ensign has become slightly radioactive to some of his colleagues wary of being seen too close to the scandal-damaged Nevadan, Politico.com reports this morning.

In an article that takes stock of Ensign's standing in the Senate these days, reporter Manu Raju reports Ensign probably won't be able to rebuild relationships in the clubby chamber until the investigation into his extramarital affair is completed, and even then it may be too late to save his seat in the 2012 election.

"Ensign doesn't get invited to a lot of press conferences because no one wants their boss in a photo op with him," the story quotes one Republican aide. In that sense, he joins fellow Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana who was identified in 2007 as having done business with a prostitution ring.

Ensign aides point to several things he has done on health care in recent months, but others say it has been impossible for the Republican party to put him out front on television on that issue and others.

Ensign has said he plans to run for re-election, and has been sending those signals to supporters and fundraisers in Nevada. He seems to have been encouraged that Gov. Jim Gibbons, another scandal-tinged Nevadan, is mounting a competitive bid to return to office, the story reports.

Reps. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., are eyeing Ensign's seat in 2012.

Berkley told Politico.com that Ensign "doesn't have a place at the table."

“There are only five members of this Nevada delegation -- we have two senators and three congresspeople -- and we really need to have all hands on deck in order to represent our state,” Berkley said. “We essentially have one senator, and he’s doing all the heavy lifting.”