Caroline Kennedy has finally made it known that she is interested in pursuing the Senate seat of Sen. Hillary Clinton, who has been nominated Obama's Secretary of State. Clinton was not expected to resign as New York's junior senator until the Senate considers her confirmation as the nation's top diplomat, after Obama takes office on January 20.

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton said on Monday that he received a phone call from Kennedy, the last surviving child of slain President John F. Kennedy, in which she expressed her interest in the Senate seat.

Even the New York Gov. David Paterson said: "She's interested in the position. She'd like at some point to sit down and tell me what she thinks her qualifications are." Paterson previously said he was "consulting with a wide variety of individuals" over the appointment, and would not announce a replacement until the position became vacant.

Kennedy, 51, who has spent part of her childhood in the White House, has kept a relatively low public profile after her father was assassinated in 1963. A presidential historian, Robert Dallek, said: "She has never sought the spotlight, never been overtly political until this year," when she endorsed Obama during his primary campaign against Clinton for the Democratic Party nomination, and later helped the search for his vice-presidential candidate.

According to ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, Kennedy's support from a high-profile family makes it difficult for Paterson to say no to her over other leading candidates, which include New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Nassau County Chief Executive Thomas R. Suozzi, as well as a few other state representatives.