Rep. Steve Pearce will announce tomorrow that he will seek ...

Pearce, a three-term New Mexico Republican, will send an email to "friends and supporters" tomorrow declaring his intention to run. A person familiar with Pearce's plans said the congressman wants to notify supporters informally before officially declaring his campaign sometime in the coming weeks.

"There are a number of pieces that still need to be put in place - a website, a campaign team, etc.," before a formal announcement is made, the person said, adding that Pearce is not ready to field media questions until possibly Thursday.

Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M, announced her campaign for Domenici's  seat 12 days ago - at about the same time Domenici announced his retirement.

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, who was in Washington yesterday interviewing consultants and fundraisers, is the highest-profile Democrat in the race. Santa Fe businessman Don Wiviott, also a Democrat, is also running, and has pledged to spend at least $400,000 of his own money for a campaign.

A Wilson-Pearce primary matchup should be interesting. Wilson, who positions herself as a moderate, is a seasoned campaigner with several difficult re-election victories under her belt.

Pearce, who votes with the Bush Administration more often than Wilson (or is more reliably conservative - whichever description you prefer) has had an easier time keeping his seat in conservative southern New Mexico.

But he's not one to shy away from a challenge. The former state legislator ran unsuccessfully for Sen. Jeff Bingaman's seat in 2000, losing in the primary to former Congressman Bill Redmond.

It will be fun to watch the southern New Mexico political scramble for Pearce's suddenly open House seat.

More on this major Senate race development in tomorrow's Journal.