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"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," Palin said in a letter posted on her website. "My family comes first and obviously Todd (her husband) and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision," she wrote to her supporters.
Palin`s announcement ends months of uncertainty over the 47-year-old photogenic Republican leader`s political plans. Palin had fanned speculation that she was considering a bid for the presidency when she announced a summer bus tour with stops in early-voting US states.
Her announcement comes a day after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ruled himself out of the race. Ex-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Texas Governor Rick Perry lead the Republican pack to challenge Barack Obama for the White House in 2012.
But she made it clear that in the coming weeks she would "co-ordinate strategies to assist in replacing the president, re-taking the Senate, and maintaining the House". "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," she said.
