Concord – With U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes, D-N.H., ready to announce his candidacy for Judd Gregg’s U.S. Senate seat within a week, veteran Democratic activist Katrina Swett will become a candidate for his 2nd District U.S. House seat, Democratic sources say.

The developments surrounding Sen. Judd Gregg’s nomination as commerce secretary “has sped up (Hodes’) timeline, and he will make an formal announcement within the week,” according to a source close to Hodes.

“We are working on the necessary paperwork,” the source said. “We were not expecting this.”

Gov. John Lynch this afternoon named Republican Bonnie Newman as Gregg’s replacement. She will not run for a full term in 2010, Lynch said.

Swett was the Democratic nominee in 2002 for the 2nd District seat and has nearly $1 million remaining in her 2007 U.S. Senate account. She stepped aside in the summer of 2007 after Sen. Jeanne Shaheen became a candidate.

Swett currently runs the Lantos Foundation, an organization created to continue the international human rights work of her late father, U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, the former House Foreign Relations Committee chairman.

►Drew Cline's blog: Shea-Porter won't rule out Senate run

U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., has not ruled out a run for the U.S. Senate, although she has not been as aggressive as Hodes, who said two months ago he was already “seriously considering” a run.

“It is still very early and I am focused on my work for New Hampshire and the country,” Shea-Porter said in a statement this afternoon when asked through a spokesman if she is considering running for the Senate.

Watch for updates later today on UnionLeader.com and full coverage tomorrow on the New Hampshire Union Leader.