With Mort Zuckerman out of the running, Republicans are trying to convince former Bush advisor Dan Senor to run for Senate. Considering Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's relatively low numbers in polls, GOP insiders think Senor—a defense expert, former spokesman for Iraq's coalition government, investment firm co-founder, and husband of CNN anchor Campbell Brown—could win the seat.

The 38-year-old has the backing of influential Republicans like South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and former Mayor Giuliani, who according to the Times is "impressed with him and pleased that he is considering running." State Conservative and Republican party leaders told the paper that Senor is "very serious" about the campaign, and recently sat down with them to talk strategy.

As a fiscal conservative and a social moderate, the Utica-born candidate could attract upstate voters disappointed by Gillibrand's performance since Gov. Paterson gave her the seat. But in order to challenge Gillibrand, Senor will reportedly need to raise about $15 million in the next seven months while trying to beat other possible Republican candidates including former Port Authority commissioner Bruce Blakeman and economist David Malpass. If Senor wins, it's unclear what it would mean for his wife's TV show, which once billed itself as having "No Bias, No Bull."