Udall to Run for Domenici's Senate Seat

SANTA FE, N.M., Nov. 10 -- Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) will run for the Senate seat that will be vacated by Republican Pete V. Domenici, an aide to the congressman said Saturday.

"He's definitely running," Tom Nagle, Udall's chief of staff, told the Associated Press.

Udall's decision to run means all three House members from New Mexico are seeking Domenici's seat. Reps. Steve Pearce and Heather A. Wilson have said that they will vie to be the Republican Party's candidate.

Three other Democrats have also announced plans to run in the party's June primary.

Domenici, a six-term senator, plans to retire at the end of his current term, in January, because of an incurable brain disease.

Udall originally said that he intended to stay in the House, where he is a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee. But he reconsidered after a "groundswell" of encouragement from New Mexicans, Nagle said.

Udall will formally announce his decision during Congress's Thanksgiving recess, the aide said.

"He thinks it's too important not to run for the Senate," Nagle said.

A cousin of Udall's, Democratic Rep. Mark Udall, is running for Senate in Colorado, where Sen. Wayne Allard (R) plans to step down.

Tom Udall, who is in his fifth term in the House, is a former state attorney general and is the son of former interior secretary Stewart L. Udall. Tom Udall's uncle Morris K. Udall was an Arizona congressman and a presidential candidate.