Daniels thinking about bid for governor

INDIANAPOLIS -- White House budget director Mitch Daniels said Saturday he was "seriously thinking" about running for Indiana governor in 2004 and would devote his full time to a candidacy if he runs.\nAs he has for months, Daniels remained noncommittal and asked for patience from Republican backers who are urging the former Eli Lilly & Co. executive to run.\nBut Daniels sounded almost like a candidate at times as he spoke to reporters before delivering a speech at the Indiana Farm Bureau convention. Daniels discussed his hopes to revive Indiana's lagging economy and rural areas, saying "these things don't have to be."\nHe said his duties as budget director command virtually all his attention, leaving him little time to consider a run for governor.\n"But I am seriously thinking about it in my spare time," he said. "And I'll say this: If I should become a candidate -- which I've never been, for public office -- it also will get all my time. We'll earn the job, we'll win the nomination and the election, and we'll work just as hard to make Indiana the place it ought to be."\nAsked when he would decide on a candidacy, Daniels said he felt an obligation to keep his supporters from waiting too long.\n"I really want to balance that against the need to do my duty, my full duty, in my current job. And where those two lines cross I'm not sure," he said. "But it's not that many months from now" before he expects to decide on a candidacy.\nDaniels, a former political adviser to President Reagan and a former aide to U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., now splits his time between homes in Washington and suburban Indianapolis.\nDaniels declined to say whether his decision would be affected by Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan's surprise announcement last week that he would not run for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.\nHowever, he added, "If I ever should run for public office, I probably wouldn't want to start in a race against Joe Kernan just because I consider him a friend and a really good man."\nTerm limits prevent current Gov. Frank O'Bannon from running for a third term. The governor's office has been in Democratic hands since 1989, the first year of U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh's eight years as governor.\nBayh has not ruled out another run for governor. On Friday, he told reporters it was "unlikely" he would abandon his Senate career for another term as governor. However, he said a decision would come "sooner, rather than later."\nOn Thursday, David McIntosh announced he will seek the GOP nomination for governor. McIntosh is a former congressman who won the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2000, but lost to O'Bannon by 15 percentage points.\nAt least four others also are expected to seek the GOP nomination: State Sens. Luke Kenley of Noblesville and Murray Clark of Indianapolis; conservative activist Eric Miller; and Petersburg Mayor Randy Harris.