|
Two Democratic sources with direct knowledge of Sanchez's plans said he will announce his run Wednesday on Facebook, then file campaign paperwork in San Antonio. The sources would speak only on condition of anonymity before the announcement.
Sanchez, 59, was raised in Rio Grande Valley and lives in San Antonio. He is the only Democrat to declare for the race to replace outgoing Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
National Democrats worked to recruit Sanchez into a race they think he can make competitive because of his appeal to the state's ballooning Hispanic population. Democrats also believe a congested Republican primary will weaken the eventual nominee.
Despite the taint of the Abu Ghraib scandal -- Sanchez was exonerated of responsibility in an Army report
-- Democrats believe his military background will be an asset and give him credibility as a centrist.
Republicans have said they do not expect the race to be competitive, no matter who emerges from their primary. The crowded field for the nomination is likely to include wealthy Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, former Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, current Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz.
Hutchison announced in January she would retire at the end of her term.
Sanchez served as the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq from 2003 to 2004, a period that included revelations about abuse at Abu Ghraib. He was never directly linked to wrongdoing and has maintained he had no knowledge about events at the prison, but the issue is certain to come up in the race.
Sanchez has been critical of U.S. military strategy in Iraq since retiring, particularly the so-called troop surge. He has also written a book and sketched out a political philosophy. In interviews he has called himself a "progressive" and a fiscal conservative.
| 
