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Sen. Jennie M. Forehand was in a committee meeting recently in Annapolis when former Del. Cheryl C. Kagan asked to speak with her. Kagan told the four-term senator she plans to run for her District 17 Senate seat in 2010.

Despite the challenge, Forehand (D) of Rockville intends to seek a fifth term.

Kagan (D) of Rockville served eight years in the House of Delegates before stepping down in 2003 to run a nonprofit charitable foundation as executive director. Forehand was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1978 and to the Senate in 1994.

"While I haven't officially announced, I am running for the state Senate," Kagan said in an interview Monday. "There are a lot of reasons. We have new leadership in Washington that we desperately needed for our country, and I think it's time for new leadership in Annapolis as well."

The filing deadline for the race isn't until July 2010, but Kagan said she did not want to wait to begin her effort.

"This is about talking to people and listening and learning," Kagan said. "By starting early, I've been able to make the time commitment. I hope that'll make me a better candidate and, if elected, a better senator."

Forehand said she was not surprised by Kagan's decision.

"She came and got me out of committee to tell me she was running," Forehand said. "I knew she had always wanted to be a senator, so I was not surprised."

Kagan had posted a fundraiser appeal on her Web site in January, but did not specify which office she would seek. She said she received several e-mails after Forehand filed a bill for the Maryland state song when the state is facing a $2 billion budget deficit.

"People expressed their surprise and concern that she's focused on something so extraneous to their lives and struggles," Kagan said.

But Forehand said she has been active on numerous issues, including at the national level on Real ID, which mandates that a federal agency may not accept for official purposes a driver's license or identification issued by a state unless the state meets certain security requirements. Opponents have raised identity theft and civil liberty concerns about Real ID.

"You can match up any of my eight years in office to her eight," Forehand said.

Forehand also said her experience gives the county seniority, which is important in Annapolis.

"I know [Kagan] will run a very strong campaign, but I hope people will read between the lines and recognize what I've done," Forehand said.

Kagan, who served as executive director of the Carl Freeman Charitable Foundation from 2003 to 2007 and currently works as a consultant to nonprofit organizations, said she intends to go door-to-door with her campaign.

But Del. Luiz Simmons (D-Dist. 17) of Rockville said Kagan will face a tough challenge in opposing Forehand.

"Jennie has a large constituency, and I think that it would be difficult to persuade a sufficient number of voters that she should be replaced."

Forehand has sponsored numerous bills and spends a lot of time throughout her district, Simmons said.

"I'm not sure what the justification will be for Cheryl anyway to oust a liberal Democratic woman," he said.

Simmons, who has not ruled out running for the same Senate seat, said he would wait to see how the race develops between Kagan and Forehand.

"A year from now I'm going to have to examine where my intentions are and see where the race is with Cheryl and Jennie and see whether I can make a contribution in the Senate or whether I want to remain in the House," Simmons said.

Del. Kumar Barve (D-Dist. 17) of Gaithersburg said he did not understand why Kagan would run against Forehand.

"Jennie wins easily because, No. 1, Jennie Forehand doesn't cast unpopular votes," Barve said. "She's very likable, and that means a lot in politics."