US: Ending much of the guesswork about his political future, Republican governor George Pataki (60), the once obscure state senator who unseated Democratic giant Mario Cuomo, announced on Wednesday that he would not seek a fourth term in 2006.
It had been widely expected that Mr Pataki, the US's longest-serving governor and one with a particular interest in Irish affairs, would sidestep a potent challenge from state attorney general Eliot Spitzer and instead focus on a possible presidential campaign in 2008.
"I will follow a new path, find new challenges," Mr Pataki told supporters in Albany, New York.
He made no explicit mention of a White House run. But he alluded to one during a private dinner on Tuesday night with his closest advisers and confidants.
Mr Pataki's decision not to run, some political analysts said, is part of a strategy to distance himself from the political scene in New York and then reshape himself as a national figure.
If he runs for president, he is hoping voters will embrace a moderate who is pro-choice but tough on crime.