Republican Rep. Mary Bono Mack may have a challenger in the 2010 election in Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet.

Pougnet filed statement of candidacy documents Monday with the Federal Election Commission to run against Bono Mack in the 45th Congressional District race, as first reported on mydesert.com.

The 45th Congressional District includes every Coachella Valley city except Desert Hot Springs.

Neither Pougnet nor Bono Mack returned phone calls or e-mails Thursday to The Desert Sun.

Pougnet was elected to the mayor's seat in November 2007, and since then has adamantly denied rumors that he might challenge Bono Mack in 2010. He was elected to the Palm Springs City Council in 2003.

Palm Springs Councilwoman Ginny Foat said Thursday night that Pougnet is only “exploring” the idea and is spending time with friends and family this week in anticipation of making a formal decision soon.

“This is real premature,” she said.

Richard Oberhaus, fundraising chairman for the Riverside County Central Committee with the Riverside County Democratic Party, said the news Thursday wasn't “totally out of left field.”

“It's kind of exciting,” Oberhaus said.

“(Pougnet's) had an interesting career so far. He represents the community very well.”

Pougnet won the mayor's seat with 70 percent of the vote and since then has taken a strong stance on sustainability and smart growth in Palm Springs.

While he is the mayor of Palm Springs, he also is active with several valleywide organizations, including the Coachella Valley Association of Governments and SunLine.

If he chooses to formally run against Bono Mack, he will attempt to springboard from the mayor's seat to Congress, just as Bono Mack's late husband Sonny Bono did in 1988.

Bono Mack, however, has easily retained the seat she assumed when Bono died in 1998. She received 56 percent of the Coachella Valley vote last year, overcoming Democratic challenger Julie Bornstein.

Bono Mack won every city except Cathedral City, Coachella and Palm Springs, which went to Bornstein. She lives in Palm Springs, a traditionally Democratic city. Bornstein received 57.5 percent of the vote in Palm Springs. In 2006, the city voted for Democratic challenger David Roth with 56.4 percent of the vote.

Oberhaus said filing a statement of candidacy a year and a half before the election is early, but raising money in in this economy will be tough. This also would help Pougnet gather early support.

“The way he conducts himself and encourages people to work together (shows) he has good leadership,” Oberhaus said.