Wasn't that the election of The Case of the Leaked Divorce Settlement (Jeri Ryan's ex was the leading R candidate?)?
Yep. Jack Ryan was a pretty good Republican candidate. The story leaked that he had consensual sex with his wife at the time at a sex/swingers club in New Orleans.
Ryan possibly could have won. But the Obama train had begun building momentum.
You can look it all up. Lived through that mess in '04. The first of three times I voted against Obama, not necessarily for the R candidate.