Sarah Palin to Run for Re-Election as Alaska’s Governor?

Top Republicans and Democrats across Alaska are quietly lining up to run for governor amid growing speculation that Sarah Palin will not seek reelection in 2010.

No candidate, including Palin, has yet filed papers with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Palin’s office declined an opportunity to explain her thinking on the 2010 race, and the Republican Governors Association said it would not comment on discussions it has had with the governor.

But a number of Democrats and Republicans in Alaska and Washington who spoke to POLITICO believe her silence is a sign she will not pursue a second term as governor so that she can play a larger role on the national political stage.

But, does she really need to be beat up in a campaign for another term if she harbors a desire for a run for the Presidency in either 2012 or 2016?

Probably not.

In any event, Palin will wait until next Spring and at the last possible moment to announce a final decision.