Tom Rooney, a grandson of the late Steelers patriarch Art Rooney, is considering a run for the U.S. Senate in Florida.

Mr. Rooney, a lawyer who is chief executive of an orphanage, said yesterday that senior Florida Republicans had urged him to consider running for the nomination to challenge Sen. Bill Nelson, the incumbent Democrat. He said he expected to make a decision within 10 days.

"I would not get in this race to be an also-ran," said Mr. Rooney, 35, who is president of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. "The only way I would get into this race would be to win."

His deliberation comes as speculation swirls around the Senate candidacy of U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla., who has been buffeted by controversy over her campaign's receipt of illegal contributions from a Washington lobbyist.

The Harris campaign issued a statement over the weekend saying she would have "a major announcement" about the race sometime this week.

Ms. Harris vaulted to national notoriety as Florida's secretary of state during the 2000 presidential race's Florida recount controversy.

Mr. Rooney, 35, said he would assess the political climate over the coming days with particular attention to whatever signals Gov. Jeb Bush might send about the race. He said that he had not had any conversations with the governor or members of his administration but had discussed the race with senior Florida Republicans close to the governor as well as officials of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee in Washington.

The Florida primary is in September and candidates have until May to officially file.

Others being mentioned as potential challengers in the GOP race include the speaker of the Florida House, Rep. Allan Bense; U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who represents a South Florida district; and the state's lieutenant governor, Toni Jennings.

A Florida term limit will force Mr. Bush to leave office at the end of this year, but he has said that he is not interested in the Senate.

Mr. Rooney is the son of Patrick Rooney, one of five sons of Steelers founder Arthur J. Rooney. His Florida roots come from his family's ownership of the Palm Beach Kennel Club, a dog racing track.

He received a bachelor's degree from Washington & Jefferson College and graduated from the University of Miami law school. He served as a military lawyer with the Army and taught military law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point before leaving the service with the rank of captain in 2004.

Mr. Rooney is not the first family member of his generation to consider the U.S. Senate. His cousin, Art Rooney II, was reportedly urged by the late Gov. Robert P. Casey to accept a Senate appointment to fill the balance of the term of the late Sen. John Heinz after Mr. Heinz's death in an airplane accident in 1991. Mr. Casey eventually named Harris Wofford to the seat.

"That's the moment I got interested in politics," Tom Rooney recalled yesterday. "I remember going to a Penguins game with Artie. He described all the conversations that were going on and he didn't know what he wanted to do at that point, but said he probably wasn't going to go ahead with it. That's when I first started thinking about government and politics ... when I got intrigued by all of the gamesmanship that goes on."

Mr. Rooney saw his cousin, along with the rest of their family, at the Super Bowl.

"Artie's a great guy except for that Democratic thing," his Republican cousin joked.