WASHINGTON — To the dismay of fellow Republicans, Sen. Larry Craig launched a determined drive Wednesday to save his Senate seat, vowing to stay in office if allowed to withdraw his guilty plea in a men's room sex sting.
Craig's campaign suffered a setback, however, when the Senate ethics committee refused to set aside a complaint lodged against him. "Pending Sen. Craig's resignation, the committee will continue to review this matter," the committee's senior senators wrote.
The decision to deploy his legal team marked a reversal of his pledge to resign on Sept. 30, and raised the possibility of a legal and political struggle, much of it playing out in public.
"I thought he made the correct decision -- the difficult but correct decision to resign" over the weekend, said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky after he and Craig spoke by telephone. "That would still be my view today."
