Christie Vilsack: “I’m well-qualified.”

UPDATE:  Here’s the Radio Iowa story.

Christie Vilsack, wife of former Governor Tom Vilsack, spoke with WHO-TV’s Dave Price earlier this afternoon.  Price asked if she was the “mystery candidate” who would emerge to seek the Democratic Party’s 2010 nomination for the U.S. Senate and the change to face-off against U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-New Hartford, Iowa) in November, 2010.

Christie Vilsack told Price she was “honored” to have people talking with her about running.  “I’m well-qualified to serve, so time will tell,“ Christie Vilsack said. 

WHO-TV will post the raw audio of the interview later this evening. Earlier today, U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack declined to answer when asked about a “Christie Vilsack 2010” candidacy.

Having covered two Vilsack campaigns for governor and a  (brief)Vilsack for president campaign (as well as watching both Vilsacks campaign for pal Hillary Clinton once Tom Vilsack dropped out of the race), I can tell you that the Vilsacks are well-matched.  Tom Vilsack, as he once told me, loves to govern.  Christie Vilsack, as I’ve observed, loves to campaign.  She likes the process.  She likes meeting people.

Her husband once credited her with being the only person on the 1998 Vilsack for Governor campaign who had the, um,chutzpah to campaign in the home territory of Republican opponent Jim Lightfoot.  She went to Shenandoah, Lightfoot’s hometown, and campaigned elsewhere in Page County.  As I recall Tom Vilsack’s version of this story, he ended up winning Page County.