Geraldine A. Ferraro, the former congresswoman who became a legend in the Democrat party after she was picked to run for Vice President on the ticket headed by Walter Mondale, will seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Senator Alphonse D'Amato later this year.
The announcement, made at the Sheraton New York Hotel in Manhattan on Monday morning, ended weeks of speculation about Ferraro's political future.
It was followed by two additional press conferences, held in Albany and Buffalo, and came just hours after the Cable News Network announced she had resigned from her position as one of four co-hosts of the popular Crossfire program.
"I believe this high office requires more than being Senator Pothole," she said during her announcement. "The issues that are facing this country - education, health care, the economy, jobs - those are things that have to be addressed."
Before she gets to challenge Mr. D'Amato, however, the three-term congresswoman will have to square off against at least two heavyweight opponents in a primary: Congressman Charles Schumer, of Brooklyn, and New York City Public Advocate Mark Green.
Though independent polls show her well ahead of both her Democrat challengers and able to defeat D'Amato, supporters of both Mr. Green and Mr. Schumer said they believe the margin in the polls will tighten as the race wears on.
Both men intend to base at least a portion of their campaign on pointing out that they've built solid records in government while Ferraro has been out of public service since the Democrats' failed bid for the White House in 1984.
The hint of rancor - almost always prevalent in Democratic circles in an election year - has already touched off concern that heavy infighting could jeopardize the party's chances.
In a devisive campaign in 1992, Ferraro was consistently attacked by both Elizabeth Holtzman and then-attorney general Robert Abrams, their criticism focusing not on the candidate herself, but on the business dealings of her husband, real estate executive John Zaccaro.
Abrams eventually went on to narrowly lose in the general election against Senator D'Amato. In an attempt to stem a similar situation this year, New York State Democratic Chairwoman Judith Hope issued a statement reminding the candidates that "the issue is D'Amato, not your fellow Democrats."
In a written statement issued just minutes after she formally entered the fray, Senator D'Amato said, "I welcome her to the race. If she is her party's nominee, she will be a formidable opponent."