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Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said on Friday she will resign this month and will not run for re-election as governor.

“I’m not seeking re-election,” Palin told a news conference at which she said she would transfer authority to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell.

Palin was Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s vice presidential running mate in last year’s election and rallied the party’s conservative base. There has been speculation that she would seek to be the Republican Party’s presidential candidate in 2012.

“We know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time,” she said.

Palin said her decision came after much “prayer and consideration.” She did not want to waste time on “political blood sport” and cited public criticism of her actions and her family since the 2008 campaign.

“I know when to pass the ball,” said Palin, speaking from Wasilla, Alaska, adding that “this decision has been in the works for a while.”