State Sen. Florence Shapiro is getting ready to set up an exploratory committee to run for the U.S. Senate in anticipation of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's resignation or retirement, sources said this afternoon.

Shapiro, a Republican, has been in the state Senate since 1993 and was a Plano city council member and Mayor before seeking state office.

She wasn't immediately available for comment.

Hutchison hasn't gone anywhere yet. But she's talked about running for governor in 2010 and has told supporters that leaving the federal office early is one option she's considering.

An early declaration from Shapiro would accomplish a couple of things: It allows her to start raising federal campaign money and puts her at the top of the speculation list of possible successors to Hutchison, at least for now.

It carries some risk, too. Hutchison and her supporters might take it as presumptuous, for what that's worth. If Hutchison does step down early, and Gov. Rick Perry appoints a successor, his choice will amount to either an endorsment for or against Shapiro.

The state Republican Party convention is about a month away, so she'll get some feedback from the regulars pretty soon. As for campaign finance, Shapiro ended last year with $853,580 in her state account. But state law is more lenient than federal law, and not all of that money would transfer to a federal race (Hutchison, who'd be going from the stricter system to the more lenient one, could move all of the $8,520,717 in her federal account to a state race).