I remember that, but that was pretty early on. Keyes came in well before the election. Also, I think it was someone else besides the ex-wife who caused the final trouble. His ex-wife mentioned that her ex would make a great Senator.
Jack Ryan won the nomination in a March primary, and dropped out three months later in June. Two months after that, in August, Keyes became the candidate. During that two months the GOP was in Senatorial limbo, even looking at the possibility of Mike Ditka stepping in. I recall Ditka on the radio talking about it, and not saying he wouldn’t do it, although of course this didn’t go anywhere.
By the time Keyes blew in from Maryland, the GOP candidacy was a complete joke, and Keyes presence merely saved them from the deeper ignominy of having no candidate at all.