New York ? Jeanine Pirro is expected to quit her bid to unseat Sen. Hillary Clinton as early as Monday, prematurely ending what had been billed as one of the nation’s marquee races.

Just a few months ago, the Westchester County, N.Y., district attorney was the darling of a Republican Party convinced she was the right candidate who – even if she couldn’t beat Clinton – could at least slice into her high approval ratings.

But now, Pirro, 54, is being written off as the first political roadkill of the 2006 election season.

GOP insiders said they expect her to toss in the towel Monday when Republican leaders meet in Albany, N.Y., to gear up for next year’s elections.

Officially, her campaign says Pirro has no plans to quit, but sources said she will be “drafted” to run for attorney general.

Sources close to the Pirro camp said Clinton’s popularity was not her only obstacle. Besides her fundraising problem, Pirro also was hurt by the media spotlight on her husband, Al Pirro, a lobbyist who did prison time for tax evasion.

She also didn’t help her own cause with an embarrassing campaign launch when she went speechless before cameras for 32 seconds, then asked where the missing page of her speech was.