Republican leader - slept with lobbyist, attempted suicide. 49-year-old Richardson, once thought to be a serious contender for governor, had gone right back to shaking hands at chicken-and-grits fundraisers after trying to kill himself. But he had been silent since his ex-wife claimed this week that he slept with a lobbyist pushing a $300 million pipeline bill he was co-sponsoring.
It has been a dizzying fall for one of Georgia's most powerful political figures.