Ferraro Comeback Starts With Nomination

Geraldine Ferraro called top New York Democrats Sunday night to tell them she would seek the nomination to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, a source told The Associated Press.

Ferraro seemed “exuberant” about a comeback, said the source, a Democrat who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ferraro, a former vice presidential candidate and co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire” program, was scheduled to make her decision public today.

Ferraro huddled with advisers Sunday. She has planned news conferences in Manhattan, Buffalo and Albany, and reportedly told friends she will seek the nomination.

Ferraro, 62, would be taking a second shot at the seat.

In 1992 she finished second in a bitter four-way primary challenging D’Amato’s election to a third, six-year term.

Ferraro and her real estate executive husband John Zaccaro were dogged by questions about their financial dealings in a primary won narrowly by then-state Attorney General Robert Abrams.

A former three-term congresswoman from Queens, she gained prominence in 1984 when presidential candidate Walter Mondale tapped her to be the first woman on a major party’s national ticket.

Already in the race are two prominent New York Democrats, New York City Public Advocate Mark Green, who lost a 1986 Senate race to D’Amato, and U.S. Rep. Charles Schumer of Brooklyn.