Shaheen to enter NH Senate race today

Former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, will enter the US Senate race in New Hampshire today in the form of a letter to supporters.

When she gets in she will shake up already one of the most competitive US Senate races in the country. For months three Democrats -- former Congressional candidate Katrina Swett, Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand and Dartmouth Medical School professor Jay Buckey -- have all been campaigning for the right to take on Republican US Senator John E. Sununu.

At least one, possibly two, of those Democratic candidates is expected to drop out of the race due to Shaheen..

Shaheen, who served three terms as governor from 1997-2003, is currently the director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Her entrance into the race will set up a rematch from 2002 when Sununu defeated Shaheen 51 percent to 47 percent.

The news that Shaheen will enter the race was first reported by the New Hampshire Union Leader. The Globe independently confirmed the news this morning.

Kathy Sullivan, the former state Democratic Party chair, lead a "Draft Shaheen" campaign over the summer that collected 1,300 signatures.

"If the reports that Governor Shaheen is running are true, this is great news for the state of New Hampshire," Sullivan said this morning.

Her announcement comes one day after former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, also a Democrat, wrote a similar letter to his supporters saying he would enter the US Senate race in his state.