Washington: US President George W Bush has filed papers for a second term in office.

Bush, who registered on May 16 with the Federal Election Commission as candidate for re-election, is likely to locate his campaign headquarters in Northern Virginia, the 'Washington Post' reported, quoting officials.

The announcement allows supporters of Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney to begin implementing their plan to shatter all records by raising as much as $ 250 million for the election race.

"The main reason for starting now is to get going on fundraising," a Republican official said.

A fund-raising mailing will go out as soon as May 19, and Bush is likely to hold his first fund-raising event next month. The announcement comes the day after Bush achieved a major victory on Capitol Hill, persuading the Senate to pass a version of his plan to eliminate the tax on stock dividends.

"Politics is always about timing, and this is a propitious time," a senior Republican said.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced that White House political director Ken Mehlman would be the campaign manager.

RNC chairman Marc Racicot is likely to be the campaign chairman, but that was not announced, as Bush's team is still settling on his successor, the 'Post' said.

Vice-President Dick Cheney has said more than once that he will be on the ticket again for the Vice- Presidency.

Many party officials were eager to launch the race so they could get started on fund-raising.

PTI