Pirro May Face Senator Clinton in '06 Election
By PATRICK D. HEALY and JENNIFER MEDINA
Under heavy pressure to run against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2006, Jeanine F. Pirro, the district attorney of Westchester County, said yesterday that she would not seek re-election this fall but would instead enter the United States Senate race or another statewide contest next year.
Such a half step toward an announcement is unusual, but Ms. Pirro, a Republican, apparently calculated it to be in her interest after weeks of pleas from party leaders in Albany, New York City and Washington who are eager to mold her as a new Republican star in advance of the 2006 races.
New York Republicans were in a rare mood of excitement and anticipation yesterday, after months of worrying that they might be left without a high-profile candidate if Gov. George E. Pataki chooses not to seek re-election next year.
Some went so far as to describe Ms. Pirro as this year's version of a younger Mr. Pataki, who was a little-known state senator in 1994 when, with the guidance of party strategists, he went on to vanquish a Democratic legend, Gov. Mario M. Cuomo.
"Jeanine could mount a tremendous challenge to Hillary Clinton, and I feel confident enough to say that Jeanine could beat her," said Stephen J. Minarik III, chairman of the New York State Republican Party. "Anyone who knows Jeanine recognizes her as the giant killer she would be."
Ms. Pirro, 53, said at a news conference at the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains that she would forgo seeking a fourth term as district attorney so she could challenge Mrs. Clinton or enter another statewide race next year: the race for governor, her aides said, if Mr. Pataki chooses not to seek a fourth term, or for state attorney general, to face whoever emerges from a crowded field of Democrats.
Ms. Pirro's decision to move beyond Westchester politically also signaled that she and her aides felt confident that she could overcome what they acknowledged was significant baggage created by her husband, Albert J. Pirro Jr., a lobbyist in White Plains, who was convicted in 2000 of income tax fraud and served 11 months in prison.
Some Westchester Republicans said yesterday they thought she was considering the attorney general's race, given her three terms as district attorney. But those urging her to run against Mrs. Clinton have more power, influence and money behind them.
Political operatives at the White House and the Republican National Committee have told state Republicans that Ms. Pirro would be a strong Senate candidate. Ken Mehlman, the committee chairman, recently called Ms. Pirro to urge her to consider running, and other Republicans with ties to the White House - including Mr. Pataki - have made entreaties to her, according to high-level New York Republicans.
As their thinking goes, Ms. Pirro, who has won votes across the political spectrum, is better suited than any New York Republican to take on Mrs. Clinton, being a telegenic, intelligent and well-spoken woman who lives in the suburbs and supports abortion rights.
According to Republicans who have made that argument directly to Ms. Pirro, even a Senate loss would make her a national Republican celebrity who took her best shot - and took one for the team - and who could still easily run later for Senate or governor.
Ms. Pirro is known to enjoy her frequent appearances as a commentator on cable television, and a sharp-edged challenge to Mrs. Clinton could only heighten her visibility and appeal, Republicans said.
"If she ran and lost against Hillary, she'd at least come away with her own show on Fox," said one state Republican who is advising Ms. Pirro, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid upstaging her.
Ms. Pirro emphasized that she had not made a final decision on which race to enter, and that she would wait at least until Mr. Pataki announced his own plans, which he is expected to do by the end of June.
But she also made clear that she was not intimidated by Mrs. Clinton, who enjoys approval ratings of about 70 percent in New York.
"I have never run away from a fight," Ms. Pirro said. "The more challenging something is, the more interested I am in going after it."
Asked whether she would make up her mind by going on a pre-Senate "listening tour," like Mrs. Clinton did in 1999 as a newcomer to the state, Ms. Pirro, who was born in Elmira, N.Y., replied: "The good news is I won't have to listen. I am from this state."
She also said that her relatively specific experience in law enforcement would not limit her, despite concerns among some Westchester Republicans that she would be outmatched by Mrs. Clinton on economic, defense and military issues.
Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party who is close to Mrs. Clinton, declined to handicap a Pirro-Clinton matchup. But he said that the Clinton campaign did not "take anything for granted." |
