Pearce to run for Domenici's Senate seat Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Pete Domenici, The Associated Press has learned. Pearce, who represents the state's 2nd Congressional District in southern New Mexico, plans to send letters to friends and supporters Wednesday notifying them of his intent, a source close to Pearce told the AP on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity so as not to detract from Pearce's formal announcement. Pearce will publicly announce his candidacy in ''the coming weeks,'' the source said. Pearce is the third well-known candidate to seek the Senate seat that Domenici has held since 1973. Domenici is retiring at the end of his term next year because he has an incurable brain disease. Republican Congresswoman Heather Wilson and Democratic Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez have declared their candidacies....