Sen. Ensign loses chief of staff

WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- Scandal-plagued U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., has lost a key aide who has been with him since he first came to Congress in 1995, political observers say.

Ensign's chief of staff, John Lopez, is stepping down after spending much of his professional career with the senator, who is struggling to return to normalcy after admitting an extramarital affair with Cynthia Hampton, a campaign staffer whose husband, Doug Hampton, was a top Ensign aide, The Las Vegas Sun reported.

An unnamed source told the newspaper Lopez has no job lined up but has been in talks with the Washington office of R&R Partners, a Nevada lobbying and advertising firm.

Lopez was described as friendly and knowledgeable, reportedly known in both Washington and Nevada as a loyal staffer. Lopez ended up sharing chief of staff duties with Ensign's friend Doug Hampton starting in the fall of 2006, the newspaper said.

Also leaving Ensign's staff is press spokesman Tory Mazzola, whom the Sun said is relocating to New Hampshire to work for the National Republican Congressional Committee as its Northeast regional spokesman.