"Idol" judge's father to make Senate run in NY

American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi poses at the party for the 12 finalists of the television show ''American Idol'' in Los Angeles March 5, 2009.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Republican congressman and father of "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi tossed his hat into the New York Senate race Tuesday in an bid to challenge Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

Joseph DioGuardi, an accountant who served two terms in the House of Representatives in the 1980s, said he was running for the Republican Senate nomination on a platform of fiscal responsibility.

"We're spending money we don't have. We're borrowing money from countries we don't trust and don't share our values," DioGuardi said in a speech staged overlooking Grand Central Terminal.

Kara DioGuardi, a songwriter and one of four judges on the Fox television show "American Idol," did not attend.

"My daughter loves me. I'm sure she'll do everything possible ... to get me elected to the U.S. Senate," said DioGuardi, who served as a U.S. Representative from suburban Westchester County from 1985 to 1989.

Gillibrand was appointed to her U.S. Senate seat last year by New York Governor David Paterson to succeed Hillary Clinton, who became U.S. Secretary of State.

Some Democrats see Gillibrand, a former congresswoman from upstate New York, as failing to solidify her position in the liberal-leaning state. No major challenger has emerged to challenge her in a Democratic primary.

At least five other Republican contenders have declared their candidacy or are seen as eyeing a run, including former Bear Stearns economist David Malpass and former Long Island lawmaker Bruce Blakeman. The state holds its primaries on September 14 and the election is on November 2.

(Reporting by Edith Honan, editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Alan Elsner)