Mitch Daniels: I Will Not Be a Candidate

Indiana governor says wife, daughter nixed presidential run
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted May 22, 2011 5:39 AM CDT
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels Bows Out of 2012 Presidential Race: I Will Not Be a Candidate
Gov. Mitch Daniels speaks at the state Republican Party fundraiser in Indianapolis, Thursday, May 12, 2011.   (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Republicans looking to Mitch Daniels to jump into the 2012 race and be their rock star have their answer: No thanks. “I will not be a candidate,” Daniels said in a statement given to the Indianapolis Star late last night that said his wife and daughters nixed a run. "On matters affecting us all, our family constitution gives a veto to the women’s caucus, and there is no override provision,” Daniels said. “Simply put, I find myself caught between two duties. I love my country; I love my family more."

Daniels indicated that he would continue to push for fiscal restraint—just not as a candidate. His bowing out leaves Republicans scrambling to find a viable candidate who can beat President Obama, notes the Star. Many GOP donors have stayed out of the race, waiting to see if Daniels would run. That, says a GOP operative, “created a dam of money that was waiting for Mitch’s decision.” Daniels, he said, had warmed to the idea of a run, and hoped his family would come around. But they didn't, he says, and “You can’t talk somebody out of a decision like this." (More Mitch Daniels stories.)

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