State Representative Mark Mickelson says he won’t run for governor in 2018.
His announcement ends speculation that he’d be a GOP contender for the state’s highest office.
Mickelson made the announcement yesterday/Thursday. He says running for governor takes 100 percent commitment. Mickelson says that’s not in the cards for him and his family at this time.
“I got a taste of how big of a commitment it was and I was missing out on three teenage boys, leaving my wife at home mostly to raise them by herself," Mickelson says. "It was only going to be more of that. I decided for me right now, there were other priorities.”
Mickelson says he plans on running for Speaker of the House when he reaches the state legislature in January.
He says formal announcements from other likely gubernatorial candidates are coming soon.
Mickelson is the son of the late governor George S. Mickelson and grandson of Governor George T. Mickelson.