Palin to step down as governor, not seeking re-election
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Gov. Sarah Palin announced Friday that she will step down as Alaska's chief executive by the end of the month. She will not seek election to a second gubernatorial term in 2010.
Palin, a Republican, was elected governor in 2006. She was tapped as Arizona Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate last year.
Palin said she was transferring authority to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who will be sworn in on July 26.
"People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska," Palin said at an announcement from her home in Wasilla.
"Serving her people is the greatest honor I could imagine."
Palin added in a statement that she was "determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is not the easiest path. ... Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional 'Lame Duck' status in this particular climate would just be another dose of 'politics as usual,' something I campaigned against and will always oppose."
A Republican source close to Palin's political team told CNN's John King that it was a "calculation" she made that "it was time to move on."
The governor's "book deal and other issues" were "causing a lot of friction up" in her home state, the source said, adding that he believes that she is "mapping out a path to 2012."
Another source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Palin "thinks she has accomplished goals she has set forward. ... She sees what a positive influence she has had on people's lives from traveling the country in the last year."
As the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, Palin has been considered one of the front-runners for the next GOP presidential nomination. Her decision not to seek another term as governor is sure to stoke speculation that Palin is seriously eyeing a run for the White House.
In an interview last month with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Palin said she was unsure about her re-election bid because she needed to focus on her state and her family.
"So, no decision yet on either 2010 or let alone 2012?" Blitzer asked.
"No decision that I'd want to announce today," Palin responded.
- CNN's Peter Hamby, John King, Mark Preston, and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.
(Updated at 4:45 p.m. with additional information)
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Not very smart to quit before your term is over, I think she's done.
so far you can tell mostly libs read cnn....go figure
Governor One-Term-And-Run in 2012! Yeah, right.
Good news for Alaska!!
I hope we never hear from this joke of a politician again (realistically, I understand that the media will do everything possible to keep someone this idiotic in the news cycyle)
Maybe now she can focus on things she can actually influence ... Her home life!
well woop dee doo!
another act of the GOP clown parade has taken center stage…. who’s next?
By choice or by force?
Sarah, don't do it. You'll have your head handed to you again.
Palin and Obama, what a pair!! Surely the country can come up with someone better than either one of these people. Palin is a trainwreck, but Obama is a disaster! America, take your pick!
I hope the neo-cons don't continue to use her as a distraction to pull away the attention that the Ron Paul republicans should be getting
You cannot quit your first term and expect to succeed in higher office (President, or otherwise). She is too thin-skinned for politics, and maybe getting a glimmer of reality that she is simply not bright enough to go further in politics. Good riddance. Personally, I believe that either the ethics scandals are going to expose something, and perhaps someone found the smoking gun that Trig really is her grandson.
here we go......this should be interesting
StephenRex, if you feel that way about Obama, I suggest a google search for Abraham Lincoln followed by a reevaluation of your position.
Yo Zero...your an idiot!
Good for her. She should stay away for a while so all these biased and hateful media opinions will stop. It must be hard on her and her family.
Even as a near one term governor, still a lot better than a community organizer turned near one term senator turned media annoited God President.
I hope she does run for president she has my vote! If she runs for any national office she has my vote.
She is an absolute train-wreck. Coming this fall the Sarah Palin Comedy hour.
as a conservative, I think she needs to step down off the planet, she is the worst thing to happen to the Republican party since John McCain.
I am a staunch Conservative. I WOULD NEVER VOTE FOR SARAH PALIN AS PRESIDENT. As a matter of fact, I know quite a few Republicans who will not even vote if she runs. Yes, she has the support of the base, but the right needs to learn something...IT TAKES MORE THAN THE BASE TO WIN. I guess the Democrats are keeping their fingers crossed because this means another 4 years for Obama.
It's possible that she got a media offer she couldn't refuse. Perhaps a daytime show on Fox News.
She is running out of her office and commitment to the people of Alaska like a rat jumping off a ship
Plinn who? will not be missed one bit by me.
Hurrah!! Some real leadership about to emerge in the Republican Party at last in the form of Mrs. Palin!!
She represents GOOD change we can believe in.
Maybe this is good for her. She needs to go back to school and get more education especially in international affairs. She is very raw and unintelligent to run for the office of the Presindency.