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Nov 29, 2006 1:23 pm US/Eastern
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Frist Will Not Seek Presidency In 2008
WASHINGTON (CBS News) ―
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will not run for president in 2008, Republican officials said Wednesday, as the field of White House contenders continued to shrink more than a year before the first convention delegates are chosen.
Frist will be telling staff and supporters about his decision later today, CBS News correspondent Gloria Borger reports.
His decision caps a 12-year stint in electoral politics in which he rose from an underdog in his 1994 Senate campaign to the position of majority leader a mere eight years later.
The decision by the Tennessee senator leaves Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani as the most nationally prominent contenders for the Republican nomination.
Other potential GOP contenders include Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Charles Hagel of Nebraska, Gov. George Pataki of New York and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California.
Frist becomes the most high profile campaign dropout. Earlier this fall, former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia also announced he will not run for the presidency in 2008. Warner, like Frist, had begun putting in place a campaign organization to raise money and line up supporters in early caucus and primary states, as well as nationally.
For more than a year, Frist has been under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding allegations of insider trading in connection with the sale of shares in HCA Inc., a hospital chain and health company his father and brother founded. Frist has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, although he has not gained the quick resolution of the issue that he had hoped for.
Frist was a physician with no experience in politics when he challenged Democratic Sen. Jim Sasser. He was swept into office in that year's Republican landslide.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)