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I'm a former governor, and so I was the chief executive, and when the legislature wasn't in session, I was running the state.

I had the chance to be governor for eight years and I took a year to transition out and a year to transition in, so that's a decade of my life where I pursued my own ambitions and I thought it was time to rearrange my life to focus on other things.

I don't want to spend the rest of my life in politics. When I'm finished with my term as governor, I'm going back to the life that's waiting for me in the private sector.

I was considering running for political office.

When I first ran for governor, the political class and party leaders opposed me with great vigor, and some even said if I won the primary they would never vote for me. But the voters had other ideas, and they are the only ones who count.

My nomination to be Governor was not to gratify ambition.

I will make the final decision on running for governor after my congressional term ends.

What made me decide to run was the dire state of the economy and the non-leadership of President Obama. At that point in time, my campaign put a mustache on Obama as part of the national campaign drive.

I loved being governor. It was a blast. Eight years was enough. But it was certainly one of the greatest thrills in my life to be able to serve the people of Florida. I miss that from time to time.