It’s been quite a week for Republicans deciding they’re not interested in entering the
White House in 2013. First, Christie closed the door on a presidential bid on Tuesday. Last
night, Sarah Palin followed suit, saying:
As Alex says, Palin’s decision hardly comes as a surprise and will not have much of an impact on the race. As I pointed out back in June, she would never have won anyway. Only around 8 per cent of Republicans say they’d vote for her in the primaries – especially low considering she has almost universal name-recognition. And even if she had somehow been the nominee, Obama would’ve crushed her next November: the latest CNN poll showed the President leading Palin 58-37. In part because of this, a full two-thirds of Republicans said they didn’t want to see Palin run. So her decision is nothing more than an acceptance of the inevitable.“After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States… My decision is based upon a review of what common sense Conservatives and Independents have accomplished, especially over the last year. I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office – from the nation’s governors to Congressional seats and the Presidency.”
Of more interest are Marco Rubio’s words to a forum in Washington
yesterday:
He went further, saying he didn’t get elected to the Senate last year “to have a launching pad for another job” and, when asked if he’d turn down the job, said “Yeah, I believe so… the answer’s going to be no”.“I’m not going to be the vice presidential nominee.”
As I wrote last month, Rubio was the clear favourite to be the Republican’s VP candidate next year. This announcement saw his odds lengthen dramatically, from around 2-to-1 to 6-to-1 according to Intrade, although he remains favourite for now. One thing’s for sure though, the field of potential candidates has just gone from “Rubio and the rest” to wide open.
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