1:10pm UPDATE: Gov. Bill Richardson today appeared to take his hat out of the ring in the race to replace Sen. Pete Domenici, who is announcing today that he will not seek re-election, but kept that hat in the presidential ring for the time being, according to The Associated Press .

"I am not running for the Senate. I'm running for president," Richardson said in a brief phone interview with the AP.

But the governor and his campaign advisers did not categorically rule out a Senate race if he does not win the Democratic presidential nomination, the AP said.

"Right now," said Richardson campaign spokesman Tom Reynolds, "we're 100 percent committed to running for the White House, the AP reported.

And New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, issued a statement wishing Domenici well "as he takes on this next challenge in his life," saying, "Pete Domenici has served his state and his country honorably for many years, and we will miss him in the Senate."

Schumer also said New Mexico is a state where Democrats have a long history of winning elections, and "with a deep bench of talented Democratic candidates," Schumer said there's a good chance of increasing the Democratic majority in the Senate next year.

It's not really a big surprise, but Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., will run for the seat now occupied by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who is formally announcing today in Albuquerque that he will not seek re-election.

The Hill.com's Jackie Kucinich and Aaron Blake are reporting that "a source close to Wilson's decision" has confirmed that the five-term congresswoman from New Mexico's 1st Congressional District will run for the U.S. Senate in 2008.

Here's the whole article:

Leading The News

By Jackie Kucinich and Aaron Blake

October 04, 2007

Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M) will run for the New Mexico Senate seat that is expected to open up officially later Thursday when Sen. Pete Domenici (R) declares that he will not seek reelection in 2008, according to a source familiar with Wilson’s decision.  <a href='http://ad.thehill.com/adclick.php?n=a5f6dd33' target='_blank'><img src='http://ad.thehill.com/adview.php?what=zone:33&n=a5f6dd33' border='0' alt=''></a> Domenici has taken Wilson under his wing in recent years, and as he has gotten older, Wilson’s name has topped the list of potential heirs. A strong campaigner, she has survived several multimillion-dollar challenges in a swing district that voted for Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004. She defeated former state Attorney General Patricia Madrid (D) by fewer than 1,000 votes in 2006. But she also faces the same U.S. Attorney scandal baggage that would have affected Domenici’s reelection campaign. Fired U.S. attorney David Iglesias said both lawmakers pressured him to be more aggressive with his corruption cases during the 2006 campaign.

Your Name:

Your Email Address:

Rate this article:
Poor Great

Comment:

BOLD

"QUOTE"

UNDERLINE