The latest Coloradan to bid for an appointment to the U.S. Senate is former state lawmaker Polly Baca, who touted her fundraising skills in a letter to Gov. Bill Ritter.

"Should you grant me this honor, I will become the first Hispanic woman to serve in the U.S. Senate in the history of our country," Baca stated.

That distinction, she said, plus her many contacts over the years as vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Convention, would help her raise the money she would need to run for the seat in 2010.

Baca, 67, of Denver, said Wednesday she decided to formally bid for the post after getting a number of calls. The Senate seat will become vacant early next year when U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar resigns to become Interior secretary.

"I do have the qualifications," she said. "I've been around for a while."

Baca currently works as a consultant. Earlier stints, according to her resume, include 12 years in the state legislature and working as a White House public information officer during President Johnson's administration.

President Clinton appointed her as a regional director of the General Services Administration, and as a special assistant for consumer affairs.

Baca is just one of a number of Democrats who have expressed an interest in the Senate seat.

The governor has been bombarded with phone calls, letters and e-mails about the appointment to replace Salazar.

Ritter's office has said the appointment will be made "soon," but has not elaborated.

Baca conceded that her ethnicity and her gender could give her candidacy a boost. Colorado has never had a woman U.S. senator, and some activists are pushing Ritter to replace Salazar with a Hispanic.

"I'm not sure what the governor is looking for, but if he wants someone to represent all of Colorado, I can do that," she said. "My family has been in what is now Colorado for 400 years."

She said Baca County was named after her great-uncle, territorial legislator Felipe Baca of Trinidad.

The mentioned A number of Democrats have been mentioned as contenders for the vacant U.S. Senate seat:

* Members of Congress: U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter and John Salazar

* State lawmakers: Outgoing House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, Senate President Peter Groff, former Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, former Sen. Polly Baca

* Other elected officials: Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper

* Former U.S. Senate candidates: Tom Strickland an, Mike Miles

* Others: Former U.S. Attorney Henry Solano, Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet, Swanee Hunt, oil heiress, philanthropist and former ambassador to Austria.