Popular Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro will try for the Republican nomination to challenge Hillary Clinton for the U.S. Senate in 2006.
"I am running against Hillary Clinton because New York state deserves a senator who will give her all to the people of New York for a full term, who will not miss votes to campaign in [presidential] primaries," Pirro said in a statement.
"When Mrs. Clinton first came to us and said she wanted to be a New Yorker, she asked New York to put out a welcome mat and we did," the Westchester County district attorney added. "But now she wants us to re-elect her even though she won't promise to serve out her term and wants to use us as a springboard to the presidency. She's asking us to become her doormat. I believe we deserve better."
There was no immediate comment from Clinton.
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Infinity Broadcasting also reports that "Pirro began calling top New York Republicans Sunday night to tell them of her decision."
A poll released last week had Sen. Clinton with a huge lead over Pirro in a possible 2006 Senate matchup.
The poll, from the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, had Clinton leading Pirro, 63 percent to 29 percent, in a hypothetical race.
In May, Pirro announced she would not seek re-election this year, but would run for statewide office in 2006. She indicated she was considering bids for the Senate, for state attorney general or for governor, if Republican Gov. George Pataki did not seek a fourth term.
But later this week, she is expected to officially announce that she will seek the nomination to run against Clinton in what could be the most expensive Senate campaign ever.
The 53-year-old Pirro, who once made People magazine's "Most Beautiful People" list, is pro-abortion rights, and is well-known throughout New York for her battles against child molesters who prowl the Web, her work with battered women and her battle against underage drinking, reports Infinity.
She has also be seen on news outlets like Fox News commenting on high-profile crime cases.
Some top Republicans, including state GOP Chairman Stephen Minarik, had been pressing for Pirro to run against Clinton on the theory that even if she lost the race, the district attorney could bloody the former first lady as she prepares for a possible run for president in 2008.
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