Another Republican scoffed that the most attention Sanchez has drawn in recent months, despite being a member of the Homeland Security Committee, was from a photo of her that appeared in the June issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine.
Sanchez said she's known to voters statewide, thanks to two years spent building support for a future U.S. Senate run.
"I've been up and down the state in anticipation of running for the Senate and I haven't hidden that from anybody," she said.
Last week, Sanchez broke ranks by joining Rep. Calvin M. Dooley (D-Hanford) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) in urging Feinstein to run as an "insurance" candidate on the recall ballot, since all candidates would appear on a winner-take-all list. She argued in editorial and television appearances that Democratic voters need an option should Davis be ousted. A strong Democrat such as Feinstein, she said, could encourage Democrats to show up on election day to turn back the recall.
Sanchez turned up the heat Saturday, hinting broadly that she might run to give voters a choice. On Monday, she told former California Democratic Party Chairman Bill Press that she'd defer to other Democratic federal and state officeholders to "put on the best person that we can" -- and if she fit the bill, "then I will put my name on there."
The real danger for Democrats is that a Sanchez candidacy could spark an avalanche of Democrats joining the race, Pitney said.
"If she does go for it, it's a high-gain, high-risk proposition," he said. "She could end up being governor or she could end up being a party pariah."
