#10 Jack Ryan

What happened?: Jack Ryan, the 2004 Republican candidate for the Illinois Senate race, had some explaining to do when his divorce records from actress Jeri Lynn Ryan were unsealed and released at the urging of the Chicago Tribune and an ABC affiliate. The files contained the actress’ claim that her husband had taken her to various sex clubs around the country hoping to convince her to engage in public sex. Though Mrs. Ryan would ultimately jump to her ex-husband’s defense, praising his loyalty to her and their child, the damage was already done and Ryan chose to end his run for Senate.

Why it's notable: If it wasn’t for Jack Ryan, Barack Obama may not have clenched the Illinois Senate seat and then continued on his illustrious path to become President of the United States. OK, well maybe we’re giving Ryan a little too much credit there, but the scandal is notable for other reasons. For one, it involved super sexy Jeri Lynn Ryan, the fantasy girl of millions of Trekkie geeks across the nation. The accounts she provided of his sex club fetishes and penchant for public sex raised more than a few eyebrows and caused the newbie Republican senate candidate to withdraw from the race. He would later be replaced with Alan Keyes. What is notable is that even though Ryan had been trailing Barack Obama in the polls, Keyes being tapped as the replacement made Obama’s win that much smoother. 

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Text: Amanda Younger