Jeannie Pirro, Hillary Clinton & Brownwood Texas
Monday, May 23, 2005 11:39 a.m. EDT
Pirro Makes Move to Challenge Hillary Clinton
Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro is expected to announce at a press conference later today that she will not be seeking a fourth term.
New York Republican insiders tell NewsMax that Pirro will soon make known plans to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for her seat next year.
In her announcement today, Pirro will indicate she is not running for re-election so that she can "seek a higher office," an insider told NewsMax. Pirro will not explicitly mention Hillary Clinton or a Senate bid.
A source familiar with Pirro's inner circle, however, tells NewsMax that she definitely believes Hillary is vulnerable and that she intends to run against Sen. Clinton next year.
With less than 18 months to go before the 2006 election, only Edward Cox - a prominent attorney and son-in-law to the late President Richard Nixon - has announced his intention to challenge Hillary Clinton.
Cox has already organized a campaign staff and has begun fund raising for his bid.
However, a top New York insider says that Pirro has already received the tacit support of Gov. George Pataki, who had been backing Cox.
The national Republican committee and White House may have played a role in persuading Pirro to run.
Pirro's challenge against Clinton may be an uphill battle.
Sen. Clinton's approval rating among New York voters approaches 70 percent in recent polls.
But 60 percent of her supporters also say they want her to pledge not to run for president in 2008 - something Clinton has so far been unwilling to do.
A frequent television commentator, Mrs. Pirro began her career in law enforcement as a prosecutor in Westchester more than 25 years ago, according to an online biography.
In 1978, she headed the county's first domestic violence unit, one of only four in the nation, and was later elected the first woman jurist to sit on the Westchester County Court bench.
Mrs. Pirro's High Technology Crimes unit has won plaudits nationwide for its work against pedophiles and child pornographers who use the Internet to prey on children.
source: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/5/23/114130.shtml?j=1181318&e=steve_squared@verizon.net&l=422279_HTML&u=21457082
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Clinton dipping into deep Texas pockets
State is No. 2 in donations for N.Y. senator's re-election
07:36 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 24, 2005
By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – When it comes to political fundraising, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has learned there's plenty of green in red-state Texas.
Also Online
Clinton pulls a half-mil from Texas pockets
Fastest route to change: political connections
Mrs. Clinton has raised more than $460,000 from Texas so far this year – more than any other state except New York, where she serves as the junior U.S. senator.
"Hillary has some very good friends in Texas," said spokeswoman Ann Lewis. "She's very actively raising funds for her Senate re-election campaign, and we're appreciative that her friends in Texas have been able to help."
During the last two years, the Lone Star State has been the third-biggest source of campaign cash for the former first lady and potential Democratic presidential candidate, according to federal contribution reports.
In a flurry of March fundraisers that flew largely under the political radar, Mrs. Clinton dipped into some deep pockets at stops in Dallas, Austin, Houston and McAllen. They helped her raise more from Republican-dominated Texas than even from overwhelmingly Democratic California.
Democrat Garry Mauro said Mrs. Clinton is a marquee name among the party faithful. And she has long been connected to Texas Democratic politics; she and husband Bill ran Sen. George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign in the state.
to view the entire article please visit: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/052405dntexhillary.d9504002.html
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