Several governors have admitted sexual indiscretions

June 25, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

South Carolina’s Mark Sanford is one of several governors who have admitted to affairs while in office. Others include:

Eliot Spitzer; New York, 2007-08, Democrat. Elected on an anti-corruption platform, Spitzer resigned after becoming embroiled in an investigation into a high-end prostitution ring. Referred to in court papers as “Client-9,” Spitzer spent tens of thousands of dollars to arrange visits with prostitutes, law-enforcement officials said. Prosecutors ultimately declined to file criminal charges.

James McGreevey; New Jersey, 2002-04, Democrat. McGreevey resigned after proclaiming himself “a gay American” and saying he’d had an extramarital affair with a man. He and wife Dina Matos divorced in August 2008.

Bob Wise; West Virginia, 2001-04, Democrat. Wise acknowledged in 2003 that he “was not faithful” to his family and asked for forgiveness after a man accused the governor of having an affair with his estranged wife, a state employee. Wise, with a wife and two children, declined to run for a second term in 2004.

Paul Patton; Kentucky, 1995-2003, Democrat. Patton was seven years into an administration that focused on education and the economy when news broke of a sexual relationship with a western Kentucky woman who owned a nursing home. Patton, who made a tearful admission on national television, finished his term but has not sought another elected office.

Kirk Fordice; Mississippi, 1992-2000, Republican. Fordice was hospitalized after a 1996 crash when he left his security guards and drove himself 200 miles to Memphis, Tenn., for lunch with a woman who wasn’t his wife. In 1999, he was photographed with the same woman coming back together from a trip to Paris. After leaving office due to term limits, Fordice divorced his wife of more than 40 years and married the woman from Memphis.

Bill Clinton; Arkansas, 1979-81, 1983-92, Democrat. In the 1992 presidential race, former television reporter Gennifer Flowers claimed they had a 12-year affair. Clinton initially denied the allegation but later acknowledged a single sexual encounter with Flowers. Clinton also was accused of sexually harassing state worker Paula Jones. It was that investigation that ultimately revealed Clinton’s relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Earl Long; Louisiana, 1939-40, 1948-52, 1956-60, Democrat. Long had an affair with Bourbon Street stripper Blaze Starr in the 1950s.