State Sen. Jane Clare Orie, R-McCandless, is considering a bid for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Arlen Specter.

If she were to enter the race, Ms. Orie would be the third GOP candidate on the 2010 primary ballot. Pat Toomey, the former Lehigh Valley congressman who just missed capturing the GOP nomination five years ago, is already in the race along with Peg Luksik, a conservative activist from Johnstown.

In a statement released yesterday afternoon, Ms. Orie, the Senate majority whip, confirmed her interest in the seat, which was first reported on the Web site, PoliticsPa.

"Currently I am focused on the critical state budget negotiations that are taking place in Harrisburg and remain committed to the fight for a fiscally responsible budget that does not raise the taxes of hard-working Pennsylvanians," Ms Orie said. "That being said, I continue to be deeply troubled by the direction our country is heading and I am considering future opportunities, including a run for the United States Senate."

Ms. Orie, who has represented her North Hills district since 2001, met with officials of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in Washington Monday, according to Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the campaign arm of the GOP's Senate caucus.

"The meeting was at her request," Mr. Walsh said. "We'll meet with anyone who is credible and wants to meet with us."

The NRSC has not endorsed anyone in the contest, but its chairman, Sen. John Cornyn, has donated $5,000 to Mr. Toomey from his personal leadership PAC.

Mr. Toomey has said he will report campaign contributions of more than $1 million in the next Federal Election Commission report, due this month. Ms. Luksik said she would report a fundraising total "in the neighborhood of $100,000."

"Anyone is free to run," Nachama Soloveichik, a spokesperson for Mr. Toomey said in response to the announcement. "We couldn't be happier with the support we've received from grassroots Pennsylvanians, local, state and national party leaders, the Pennsylvania congressional delegation, NRSC Chairman John Cornyn, and the well over $1 million we've already raised from more than 15,000 contributors."

Ms. Luksik echoed her rival's reaction, saying, "Anybody's perfectly free to run," and said the announcement would have no impact on her campaign.

Ms. Orie's interest is the latest development in the already tangled plot surrounding the Senate seat. Mr. Toomey's decision to enter the race effectively drove the incumbent out of the Republican Party as Mr. Specter acknowledged that he was unlikely to prevail over Mr. Toomey again in a GOP primary. His migration to the Democratic side was welcomed by the party's hierarchy, but he faces opposition for his new party's nomination from state Rep. Bill Kortz, D-Dravosburg, and from the undeclared but already active campaign of U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Delaware County.

Mr. Sestak has repeatedly raised questions about Mr. Specter's Democratic credentials and the incumbent's campaign shot back yesterday with a statement accusing the retired Navy admiral of being "a flagrant hypocrite in challenging my being a real Democrat when he did not register as a Democrat until 2006, just in time to run for Congress."

Mr. Specter's statement also criticized his likely rival for compiling a spotty voting record during his Navy career.

The congressman responded with a statement saying that he had registered as an independent during his Navy career because he felt it was important for military officers to be nonpartisan. He also suggested that in some of general elections in which records show he did not vote, he had attempted to cast absentee ballots that were not counted.

"Let's be clear: I voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and Barack Obama while Arlen Specter was voting for George Bush and Bob Dole and John McCain," Mr. Sestak said. "My question to Arlen Specter is this: Do you regret voting for George Bush and John McCain?"