Christensen was seen as the early frontrunner, though his lead fell dramatically in the final weeks after he made public comments that he signed an affidavit after he and his first wife divorced, saying that her adultery broke up their marriage. He also saw backlash from comments he made about his second wife (Tara Dawn Holland, Miss America 1997), that he got her to swear that she was a virgin who was "saving herself for marriage." His campaign also vigorously attacked Johanns in a flier for allowing "obscene and racist" broadcasts to air on Lincoln's public access cable channel. The broadcasts showed a man urinating in public; though Johanns tried to stop the program, the airing was protected by a federal lawsuit. The flier was condemned by Republican members of Nebraska's congressional delegation, with then-Senator Chuck Hagel saying that "Nobody in the Republican Party of Nebraska can be proud of Jon Christensen's conduct. I hope the people of the state will get out and vote and register their feelings on the conduct of this campaign." Hagel also added that his tactics "embarrassed Nebraska."