San Francisco businesswoman Dana Walsh (R) wants to challenge Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) next year in the ultra-left-leaning 8th district.

Walsh, the president of the Nob Hill Republican Women’s Club, announced her candidacy on July 4.

Walsh is not the only woman who may be gunning for Pelosi. Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan announced Sunday that she may run for Pelosi’s seat as an Independent if Pelosi does not sign off on legislation to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney by July 23.

In the San Francisco-based district, where Pelosi routinely gets 80 percent of the vote, Republicans and left-wing third-party candidates frequently battle for the right to finish a distant second.
— David M. Drucker