The meeting of the Downtown Republican Women's Club had an unlikely featured speaker.

Standing next to life-size cutouts of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and George W. Bush, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert delivered the keynote address as his wife and son looked on from the small audience.

As mayor, Leppert speaks to a lot of groups and attends numerous functions.

But his rare appearance at a tiny club devoted almost solely to Republican politics signaled that he had more in mind than simply updating residents about progress at City Hall.

Leppert is methodically laying a foundation for his candidacy for U.S. Senate, or some other higher elected post.

He recently revealed the worst-kept secret in town by publicly acknowledging that he would consider running in a special election if Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison resigned her Senate seat to focus entirely on running for governor.

"If the opportunity comes up ... then I'll go ahead and look at it," Leppert said during a taping of WFAA's Inside Texas Politics. "People have been very supportive of what I've done, and I feel real good about what we've accomplished."

But since Hutchison is staying put until after the March 2 primary, it's unclear whether Leppert or anyone else will have an immediate opening to fill.

Still, Leppert has been quietly making the rounds at Republican events, including a stop at the local chapter of Log Cabin Republicans. At those events, he deftly touts his accomplishments as mayor while not talking much about his plans, at least not in earshot of a reporter.

"If you are mulling over a statewide candidacy, going to these meetings and developing Republican ties is a smart thing to do," said Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Jonathan Neerman. "The mayor has always been a proud Republican."

And he has more GOP meetings on tap. Thursday, he'll attend a boot-scootin' event with the Greater Dallas Republicans at Eddie Deen's Ranch.

His appearance at the GOP women's meeting addressed one of many obstacles to his running for a statewide office. He has to develop closer ties with the Republican establishment, while raising his profile.

He's doing so by talking about issues that are staples in most Republican platforms – reduced crime, economic vitality and strong ethics reform.

Yet those who attended the meeting wondered if he really had a legitimate shot at succeeding in a grueling statewide race.

"It would be tough for him," said former Dallas County Judge Faith Johnson, who said she was pleasantly surprised to see Leppert on the program. "You really need a statewide brand for that race."

Leppert has served only two years of his first four-year term, which began when he came out of obscurity to beat a crowded field in the race to succeed Laura Miller.

And though he once told The Dallas Morning News that he would never seek higher office, he's been intrigued by the idea of running for Senate.

"Opportunities and obstacles come up," Leppert said. "When they come up, you deal with them."

Before he runs for anything else, the mayor has political work to do.

Even though he's a Republican, Leppert has been stuck in a nonpartisan arena for much of his public life. Republicans, even in North Texas, know him as mayor, not as one of the party faithful.

So his speech to the GOP women served as a way to get him ready for the partisan arena.

He invited himself.

The event, held at county Republican headquarters, was set up by Leppert's wife, Laura.

The Leppert family mingled with the Republicans before his talk. Laura Leppert stayed after her husband left.

Leppert has not spoken much about his views on controversial issues such as illegal immigration, abortion, gay marriage and other social issues.

His talks almost always focus on his job as mayor, though he does hit Republican themes like public-private partnerships, low taxes, a strong trade agenda and education.

"What we want to have is a strong economy, one that produces a strong tax base and one that provides opportunity for the people," he told the GOP women. "You also want to create an environment where the private sector can succeed."

Some in the audience did question Leppert's drive to make the private sector in Dallas more energy-efficient. But he was able to convince many in the crowd that building green could actually save businesses money.

After his remarks, nobody asked Leppert about his political ambitions, but it was discussed over punch and cake when he left.

Dot Adler, president of the Downtown Republican Women's Club, said she didn't know whether Leppert would seek higher office.

"I'll tell you this. He's been a great leader at a time when we needed strong leadership," she said.

Z.B. Bashour, a tax adviser, said Leppert could be an ideal candidate at the next level.

"He's been a leader on both sides, public and private," Bashour said. "I would support him."

Leppert knows he has some ground to make up, considering that potential rivals have been in the partisan game much longer.

But he also knows that a disciplined candidate can catch lightning in a bottle.

"At one point, if you had told Laura and me that I would be running for mayor, we would have laughed in your face," he said, suggesting that in politics the improbable is always possible.