One week after California CPA Phil Liberatore announced he was running for a congressional seat in that state's 42nd district, former New York lawmaker and Arthur Andersen partner Joseph DioGuardi announced he is challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., for her Senate seat.

Joseph DioGuardi

DioGuardi, who served in Congress from 1985-1988, was the first practicing CPA elected to the House. He authored the CFO Act, which assigned a CFO to each major department and agency in the federal government as well as the book “Unaccountable Congress: It Doesn't Add Up.” DioGuardi claims that his financial background will help lead both New York State and the U.S. out of their current financial malaise.

"As a New York senator, I would stand up for the commonsense economic and fiscal policies that would bring jobs to New York and put America back on the right track,” he said. DioGuardi spent 22 years with Andersen before running for office. He is the father of Kara DioGuardi, a judge on the hit TV show “American Idol.”