Over the break he asked himself some serious questions about what going forward meant for him and his family. At the end of the day, the most important thing is relationships.

He was not pressured into the decision. It was a personal one.

Polls and fund-raising had nothing to do with his decision. He felt the election was winnable, and he thinks it's winnable by any Democratic candidate. He's a trial lawyer, he loves a fight, but everyone has to understand relationships matter and finding a balance is important.

While it wasn't the reason for his decision, not running again frees him from political considerations and will make it easier to move his agenda through the legislature.

He's thought through all the parts to the decision. The Democratic party has a very deep bench and there are a lot of people who can step in to do this job. He believes Dems. will keep the Governor's House and the legislature.

It's about the tension between his professional life and his personal life and as soon as he made the decision, he knew he had made the right one.

****

Gov. Bill Ritter's press conference begins in 15 minutes. He met with his cabinet this morning and said he will finish out his term but not run for re-election because a campaign would be too hard on his family. He has one son still living at home.

"He said it has been a struggle between family life and political life and that he had to make a heartfelt decision," said Rich Gonzales, the director of the Department of Personnel and Administration.

Sources told the Post that on Tuesday evening, Ritter told other Democrats the job was taking a toll on his family and he could not be successful as a father and husband while running for governor. Ritter has one school-age child living with him and wife Jeannie in the Governor's Residence. Three others are grown or in college but still nearby.

So much for my theory he might be swapping the Governor's mansion for the U.S. Attorney's office.