Chávez will enter Senate race on Tuesday

This article has been updated. It previously stated that Chávez’s entrance into the race was likely.

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez will announce at 11 a.m. Tuesday that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici.

Though Chávez would not confirm that he’s running, other sources with firsthand knowledge of his plans did. Chávez would confirm the 11 a.m. news conference at the offices of Eclipse Aviation in Albuquerque, but said only that it is to announce “what my intentions are.”

Asked if he could provide any clues about whether he plans to run, Chávez talked about his teenage son and the war in Iraq.

“I want to bring our troops home,” he said.

Sources confirmed that the mayor spent much of the weekend on the phone with state lawmakers and others seeking their support for a Senate campaign.

The move comes about a week after voters in Albuquerque rejected Chávez-backed council candidates and referenda in the city election. Some believe Chávez has been weakened by the defeat, but others point out that he’s a shrewd politician who knows how to rebound.

The mayor joins three lesser-known Democrats who entered the race before news of Domenici’s retirement came last week – Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott and Jim Hannan of Santa Fe and Leland Lehrman of Lamy. Wiviott has pledged to spend $2.1 million on a primary and says he will fund that amount himself if he can’t raise it.

Chávez will have to start from scratch in the fundraising race. Though he was raising cash for a potential 2010 gubernatorial run, the state money can’t be transferred to a federal campaign.

Other Democrats who are considering the race include Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and former Attorney General Patricia Madrid.