MAVOCKE -- Ansleigha Senator Luke Gymbal will not run for his state's governorship in 2020, he announced this week.
Gymbal, a popular Conservative, was widely seen as a strong candidate for governor to succeed outgoing Governor Dale Lindstrom (C).
But Gymbal just won another Senate term in 2018, and launching another high-profile campaign so soon after his last doesn't appeal to him, he said.
"I'm still recovering from 2018," Gymbal joked while speaking with reporters.
The main factor in his decision, though, was his family.
At age 38, Gymbal is married and has young children.
"My kids are in a great school, a great program in Mavocke, and it just isn't the right time to uproot them from that and put my family through another hard campaign," said the senator.
His decision to skip the governor's race opens the door for other Conservative candidates, including Lt. Gov. Greg Lyons, former Assemblywoman McKendra Brown, and current Assemblymen Bill Haas and Nick Winsich.
State Sen. Pat Ramsey is also considering running too, according to sources close to her.
A handful of lesser-known Conservatives may also enter the race.
The Nationalist side includes even more potential candidates, most notably state Sen. Paul Biddington, Carlinegan businessman Russ Hawley, Koeurn City Councillor Paris Westerman, and Attorney General Jon Erickson.
Assemblyman Jeff Symanthe of Churchtown is also interested in running, friends say.
The most controversial candidate that could emerge in the 2020 race is Rosamond Burkes, the wealthy mining and oil magnate and former activist who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2016.
Burkes came under fire in the 2016 race for rebuking police brutality protesters and for what many people called her "insensitive" remarks on racial tensions.
She has not commented on running for governor again, but with a net worth of more than $500 million (estimated), she'll have a leg up over other potential candidates, financially.
Assemblyman and former Koeurn Mayor Lane Kearster (N) has said he will not seek the governorship.
And former NAT nominees Mark Haller and Elliot Androlov have both ruled themselves out as 2020 gubernatorial candidates.
Gymbal, a popular Conservative, was widely seen as a strong candidate for governor to succeed outgoing Governor Dale Lindstrom (C).
But Gymbal just won another Senate term in 2018, and launching another high-profile campaign so soon after his last doesn't appeal to him, he said.
"I'm still recovering from 2018," Gymbal joked while speaking with reporters.
The main factor in his decision, though, was his family.
At age 38, Gymbal is married and has young children.
"My kids are in a great school, a great program in Mavocke, and it just isn't the right time to uproot them from that and put my family through another hard campaign," said the senator.
His decision to skip the governor's race opens the door for other Conservative candidates, including Lt. Gov. Greg Lyons, former Assemblywoman McKendra Brown, and current Assemblymen Bill Haas and Nick Winsich.
State Sen. Pat Ramsey is also considering running too, according to sources close to her.
A handful of lesser-known Conservatives may also enter the race.
The Nationalist side includes even more potential candidates, most notably state Sen. Paul Biddington, Carlinegan businessman Russ Hawley, Koeurn City Councillor Paris Westerman, and Attorney General Jon Erickson.
Assemblyman Jeff Symanthe of Churchtown is also interested in running, friends say.
The most controversial candidate that could emerge in the 2020 race is Rosamond Burkes, the wealthy mining and oil magnate and former activist who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2016.
Burkes came under fire in the 2016 race for rebuking police brutality protesters and for what many people called her "insensitive" remarks on racial tensions.
She has not commented on running for governor again, but with a net worth of more than $500 million (estimated), she'll have a leg up over other potential candidates, financially.
Assemblyman and former Koeurn Mayor Lane Kearster (N) has said he will not seek the governorship.
And former NAT nominees Mark Haller and Elliot Androlov have both ruled themselves out as 2020 gubernatorial candidates.