Kennedy will seek Clinton's Senate seat

NEW YORK, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Caroline Kennedy will seek the U.S. Senate seat in New York being vacated by Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton, political sources say.

Kennedy, an Ivy League-educated lawyer and education advocate, plans to ask Gov. David A. Paterson to consider her for the appointment, the New York Daily News reported Monday.

Paterson was traveling and was not immediately available for comment, The New York Times reported.

Kennedy, 51, the daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy and niece of Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., is seeking the seat once held by her late uncle, Robert F. Kennedy, the Times reported, noting Kennedy spent Monday morning contacting political figures about her interest.

Kennedy has devoted much of her adult life to charitable works and institutions, such as the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. She played a role in the campaign of President-elect Barack Obama, helping him vet potential nominees for vice president.

While critics, such as U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., contend Kennedy lacks the qualifications necessary to fill the seat, the Rev. Al Sharpton Tuesday called her "more than qualified."

"Ms. Kennedy is an accomplished author on constitutional law, the Bill of Rights and political courage," the activist minister said in a news release, adding "elected office is not the only area of public service that establishes leadership in this country. We just elected a community organizer as president of the United States."

Others Democrats mentioned for consideration are Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, Nassau County Chief Executive Thomas R. Suozzi and New Yor Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo.