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Bayh won't run for Indiana governor

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh says he will not run for his old job as governor of Indiana in 2012.

"It was a very hard decision," Bayh, a Democrat who served as governor from 1989 to 1997, told The Indianapolis Star. "A big part of me wants to."

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He said not disrupting his twin sons' lives, now that they are high school freshmen in the Washington area, took precedence over political ambition.

Bayh, son of former U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh, has been in public office since being elected Indiana secretary of state in 1986 at age 30. He passed on a third Senate term this year, saying he did "not love Congress."

"If all I cared about is politics, I'd run for governor because I loved being governor, and the prospects were probably favorable," Bayh said.

But, he added, "I want my kids to know that they were their parents' top priority, and more important than ambition. I've been privileged to be elected five times. You only have your kids once."

Bayh said he had not yet decided on his next move after his Senate term ends Jan. 5.

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