LANSING – Governor

Rick Snyder formally put an end Thursday to the possibility, though it was

always seen as unlikely, that he would run for president.

“When I ran for re-election, I

promised my fellow Michiganders that the job was not done, that we could not be

complacent, that it was time to accelerate and get even more done to reinvent

our state and create opportunities for our future,” Snyder said in a

statement. “I do not have plans to run for president in 2016. I will focus

my attention on continuing Michigan’s reinvention.”

Snyder’s declaration comes about 24

hours after Politico, citing unnamed sources, first reported Snyder had decided

not to run. Snyder’s communications office denied to several media outlets that

he had made a decision, but it appears Snyder had in fact decided to take his

name out of the mix.

It also comes 48 hours after voters

overwhelmingly rejected, 80.1 percent to 19.9 percent, his top policy priority,

more funding for roads, in defeating Proposal 15-1.

The idea of Snyder heading to the

early caucus and primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire and engaging in heavy

retail politicking for the rest of the year always seemed far-fetched. With the

loss of the road funding proposal, it also meant he would surely be declaring a

long-term defeat given the impossibility of trying to lead that issue to

legislative passage while he spent most of the year out of state.

Snyder’s announcement came on the

same day that a usual ally, Detroit News Opinion Page Editor Nolan Finley, penned a searing column calling on Snyder to put an end to the

presidential speculation and focus on taking care of business at home.

While a Snyder bid never seemed like

a serious possibility, it also seemed like the governor was at least kicking

the idea around. In the past, he would say he is focused on Michigan when asked

about a bid for national office. This year, he said there was time to “explore opportunities” and openly stated he did not see a

problem-solver in the Republican field.

This story was published in Gongwer

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