Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels will not run for president in 2012, ending weeks of speculation that the two-term GOP governor would enter the race.
In an e-mail to supporters sent early Sunday morning, Daniels cited his family as his primary reason for not running.
“In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one," Daniels wrote. “The interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all. If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry.”
Daniels was viewed by many as a potential top-notch challenger to President Barack Obama if he decided to get into the race. With several well-known Republicans, such as Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, taking a pass at a White House bid, many eyes were on Daniels these past few weeks as he made a final decision.
In recent weeks, Republicans had coalesced around Daniels as a potential frontrunner, with many GOP leaders, including Barbour, urging him to run.
However, Daniels said in the candid and apologetic e-mail that he was taking himself out of consideration.
“If you feel that this was a non-courageous or unpatriotic decision, I understand and will not attempt to persuade you otherwise,” he wrote. “I only hope that you will accept my sincerity in the judgment I reached.”
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra and Rep. Joseph Crowley, vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, address a news conference immediately after the closed caucus meeting.
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