Drescher wants Clinton Senate seat

NEW YORK, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- New York-born actress and activist Fran Drescher wants to take over the U.S. Senate seat Hillary Clinton soon will be vacating, Drescher's publicist said.

Drescher, who is best known for her portrayal of the title character on the sit-com "The Nanny," is also a uterine cancer survivor who has fought for better healthcare for women and was recently named a U.S. State Department public envoy on the issue.

The 51-year-old actress would like to expand that work by taking the senator's New York seat when Clinton becomes secretary of state next month, CNN reported.

"Fran Drescher, actress, women's health advocate and public diplomacy envoy for the U.S. State Department, announced that she is throwing her hat into the ring of contenders for the Senate seat being vacated by Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton," Drescher's spokesman Jordan Brown said in a written statement issued to CNN Monday.

New York Gov. David Paterson is to appoint a successor for Clinton, who would then take part in a special election in 2010.

"I would hope that (Paterson would) take into consideration that I'm a beloved New Yorker who gets the New York constituents probably as good, if not better, than any of the other people being considered," Drescher told People magazine, adding that if she does get the seat, her focus will be education and healthcare.