Mike Huckabee just announced on his Fox News program that he won’t be running for president in 2012.
“All factors say go, but my heart says no,” he said.
UPDATE: Making his announcement tonight, Huckabee shared the journey that had lead him to decide against running.
“The past few months have been times of deep personal reflection,” he said. “Even though I wasn’t actively establishing a campaign organization or seeking financial support to run again, polls have consistently put me at or near the top to be the Republican nominee.”
Huckabee made it clear that his family would have supported a run, noting that his wife had even encouraged him to run.
But ultimately, he said he didn’t feel that it was the right path for him to pursue.
“For me, the decision is ultimately not a political one, a financial one, or even a practical one —it’s a spiritual one,” Huckabee said, adding that “in quiet and reflective moments” he had found “clarity” about 2012 and “an inexplicable inner peace.”
“I know that under the best of circumstances, being President is a job that takes one to the limit of his or her human capacity,” he said. “For me, to do it apart from an inner confidence that I was undertaking it with God’s full blessing is unthinkable. I can’t know or predict the future, but I know for now my answer is clear and firm. I will not seek the Republican nomination for President this year.”
UPDATE II: Here’s the video of the announcement: