Ferraro Reportedly Sets Sights On Senate

Geraldine Ferraro, who in 1984 was the first woman on a major party’s presidential ticket, has told friends she will seek the Democratic nomination to challenge New York Republican Sen. Alfonse D’Amato this year, according to a published report.

The New York Times reported in today’s editions that the former congresswoman from Queens, now a co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire” program, would make the announcement within the next few days.

The Times report did not quote any of the friends by name.

Ferraro did not immediately return telephone messages left for her Saturday night.

She was due back in New York on Saturday night after a week’s vacation with her family in the Virgin Islands during which she planned to make her decision.

David Eichenbaum, a veteran Democratic operative and an adviser to Ferraro, said he could not confirm the Times report.

“If friends have said that, I don’t know who they are,” Eichenbaum said.

Eichenbaum is expected to hold a top position in a Ferraro campaign.

Ferraro narrowly finished second in a bitter four-way Senate primary in 1992 to challenge D’Amato’s bid for a third, six-year term.

The primary, in which Ferraro and her real estate executive husband John Zaccaro were dogged by questions about their financial dealings, left the Democrats deeply divided.