What's going on at the Georgia Statehouse these days?

The House speaker, who tried to kill himself by swallowing pills, stepped down amid allegations of an affair with a lobbyist. A lawmaker who wants to succeed him admits that the IRS investigated tax legislation he sponsored that saved the governor thousands of dollars. And a lawsuit criticizes the state's insurance commissioner _ himself a gubernatorial hopeful _ for taking a trip to the Oscars on a campaign contributor's tab.

Ethics allegations are nothing new at the Georgia Capitol, where money, power and politics mingle. But the flood of recent scandals among the state's Republican leaders has left the Peach State's image bruised.

"It's a crisis for the Republican party in this state," said Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University.

Georgia has voted reliably Republican in recent years, but Abramowitz said the recent mess might give Democrats a fighting chance in next year's battle for governor.

"It's embarrassing nationally," Georgia House Democratic Leader DuBose Porter said Wednesday.

Democrats have seized on ethics, taking the wraps off new legislation on Wednesday to strengthen laws that govern state legislators' conduct.

The domino effect shaking the state's conservative political establishment began with the speaker's resignation last month. Glenn Richardson is set to step down Jan 1. after allegations by his ex-wife that he had an affair with a lobbyist.

His No. 2, speaker pro tem Mark Burkhalter, said he was eager to take over the reins as speaker. Then three days later, with only the vaguest of explanations about other career opportunities, he said he wouldn't seek the post, one of the most powerful in Georgia politics. He has disappeared since, refusing to explain his decision further.

Allegations of wrongdoing have also clouded the race for governor.

U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal _ a Republican candidate for governor _ is facing an inquiry by two congressional ethics panels after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported a lucrative deal his company had with the state.

On Wednesday, state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine _ another GOP gubernatorial hopeful _ was defending himself after a lawsuit surfaced claiming he took trips bankrolled by a campaign contributor who asked for help in an insurance dispute.

The federal lawsuit involves a dispute over investments in an insurance company. The company alleges Dr. Jeffrey Gallups shelled out almost $2,000 in 2007 for Oxendine and his wife to attend the Oscars, according to court documents.

Gallups is involved in a lawsuit against the Indianapolis Life Insurance Company, which Oxendine's office is investigating.