Henry Solano, former U.S. attorney for Colorado, has let Gov. Bill Ritter know he's interested in being appointed to the U.S. Senate.

Solano is at least the third prominent Hispanic the governor is considering to succeed U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., who will step down early next year, when he becomes Interior secretary.

The other Hispanics are Salazar's brother, U.S. Rep. John Salazar, of the San Luis Valley, and former Denver Mayor Federico Pena.

Solano's career includes stints at the U.S. departments of Justice and Labor, and overseeing three state agencies.

"You'd be hard-pressed to find someone with a deeper resume," said political consultant Steve Welchert.

Ritter has a number of top-shelf Democrats to choose from, and he said the lobbying effort on behalf of various candidates is "intense."

Other contenders include House Speaker Andrew Romanoff of Denver, state Treasurer Cary Kennedy, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, state Senate President Peter Groff and U.S. Reps. Ed Perlmutter and Diana DeGette.

Several Republican lawmakers and influential civic groups are urging Ritter to appoint Romanoff, calling the term-limited lawmaker a "statesman."

House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, and Rep. Rob Witwer, R-Genesee, want Romanoff. So do Reeves Brown, director of the Western Slope group Club 20, and Cathy Shull, director of Progessive 15, which represents 15 northeastern Colorado counties.

"In the world of politics, there are politicians and there are statesmen - Andrew Romanoff is a statesman," Brown wrote the governor.

"Andrew has established himself statewide as an articulate and fair-minded civic leader who transcends partisan politics to find consensus solutions that work for all the people."

Schull said her group appreciated Romanoff's efforts on behalf of rural Colorado.

Witwer praised Romanoff for treating Republicans fairly.

"If it's got to be a Democrat, Andrew's the best of the lot," Witwer said.

May said Romanoff would do "an outstanding job for two years" but admitted he wants a Republican to win the seat back. The person Ritter appoints to succeed Salazar must run for re-election in 2010.