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Woman prosecutor to challenge Clinton for NY Senate

Posted on: Monday, 8 August 2005, 17:14 CDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jeanine Pirro, a high-profile district attorney in the New York City suburbs, said on Monday she would seek the Republican nomination to run against Hillary Rodham Clinton for the U.S. Senate next year.

Pirro, who was included on People Magazine's list of 50 most beautiful people in 1997, has a reputation for combating domestic violence and prosecuting Internet pedophiles in Westchester County, and has long been considered a possible Republican Senate candidate.

In a state where 61 percent of voters disapprove of President Bush's handling of his job, according to the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, Pirro could be attractive to voters because she is relatively liberal.

"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.

Clinton, one of New York's two Democratic senators, is widely seen as a presidential contender in 2008, despite her frequent assurances that she is focused on the Senate re-election campaign.

A Quinnipiac poll last week gave Clinton a 63 percent job approval rating for her Senate work. In a poll of various potential candidates, the former first lady led Pirro by 63 percent to 29 percent.

The New York Times said in June some Republicans were concerned Pirro could lose crucial votes from conservatives because of her support for abortion rights and gay rights, as well as her husband's conviction on tax evasion charges.

Among the other Republican contenders for the Senate race is attorney Edward Cox, a son-in-law of the late President Richard Nixon.

In the People Magazine item when she was included on the list of most beautiful people, Pirro said her mother had taught her the importance of looking good in politics.

"A woman needs to be put together more than a man," she said. "If she isn't, she looks like she's not up for the job. There's a different standard. Those are the rules, and I have to live by them."

Source: REUTERS

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