Haley Barbour announced today that he would not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012.
With Barbour out, the question is will Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels enter the presidential contest.
Barbour and Daniels are very close friends from their days in the Reagan White House, and many assumed that both would not run during the same cycle.
Daniels will make some high profile public appearances after Indiana's legislative session ends this month. On May 4, he will come to Washington, D.C. and speak at the American Enterprise Institute. His wife Cheri, who has expressed hesitation about the presidential process, will also make some high profile appearances in the weeks ahead, perhaps testing how she feels under a more intense spotlight. Those close to Daniels have indicated that the final decision on whether Daniels runs for President probably will be determined by his wife.
On May 12, Cheri Daniels will keynote an Indiana Republican Party spring dinner.
With Barbour not in the 2012 conversation, much of the focus will now turn to whether Daniels will jump into the fray.
Daniels has said he owed his supporters an answer on whether he would run shortly after the legislative session ends, so it can be safely assumed that Daniels will let his final intentions known within the month.
