Former Governor George E. Pataki (New York)

STATUS: POSSIBLE CANDIDATE. Former Governor George Pataki made several trips to Iowa, New Hampshire and other key early contest states during 2005-06. He even opened an office in New Hampshire for his PAC (but closed it in early 2007). In January 2007, Pataki told NH Republican leaders he was "going to let the dust settle and see where we are in a few months" -- and added he would understand if his GOP friends wanted to take a closer look at or endorse some of the announced GOP hopefuls in the meantime. One guest at the small dinner told the Manchester Union-Leader: "He never came out and said, 'I'm not running for President,' but everybody basically saw the handwriting on the wall, which is he's out." Pataki's spokesperson said the ex-Gov was still "considering the possibility of running for President" but was instead "focusing on policy rather than politics." Yup, he's out. Related links: Friends of George Pataki (official political site), 21st Century Freedom PAC (Pataki's leadership PAC), and ThePatakiPlan.com (official Iraq War policy site).