Jowers won't run for guv in 2010

The director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah says he won't run for governor in 2010.

Kirk Jowers told KSTU on Monday that he won't seek the Republican nomination because it is in the best interests of his family, and Gov. Gary Herbert will be a tough opponent.

Herbert became governor last week after Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. resigned to become U.S. ambassador to China, forcing a special election in 2010 to fill out the remainder of Huntsman's term.

Herbert has spent the past four years traveling the state getting to know the delegates who choose the Republican nominee.

Jowers did not rule out running for governor in 2012.

— Associated Press