Republicans bemoan W.H. race without Mitch Daniels

Updated at 12:05 a.m. ET Monday

Republicans bemoan the decision by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to skip the 2012 race for president, saying the race will be lacking without his expertise about the challenges facing the country from rising debt.

"He would have been a formidable competitor," former House speaker Newt Gingrich, a rival for the GOP nomination, said Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation. "I thought he would be among the front-runners from day one if he'd decided to run."

Ex-Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, who will formally launch his presidential campaign on Monday, called Daniels "an intellectual powerhouse" who will continue to play a leading role in Republican politics.

In an op-ed in Monday's USA TODAY, Pawlenty describes why he has decided to run. "I'm going to try something a little unusual. … I'm just going to tell the truth,'' he writes.

"That type of leadership is very different from what we have in the White House, and my campaign for president will be different, too," he writes.

Jon Huntsman, a former Utah governor who is thinking about running for the GOP nomination, echoed Pawlenty and other Republicans in saying that Daniels would have added a dimension to the race because of his focus on the nation's fiscal issues.

"Mitch Daniels will be missed in this presidential debate, but his message about the most immediate threat facing our nation -- the massive debt -- will not go unheard," Huntsman said in a statement. "Our country owes Gov. Daniels unending gratitude for his service, and the steadfast manner in which he's shined a light on the crippling debt that we will leave behind for future generations if it's not addressed."

Daniels, a popular governor who cannot run for a third term in Indiana, ended months of ruminating and issued statements overnight that he would pass on a White House campaign. He had long been open about the opposition coming from his wife, Cheri, about a presidential campaign and he cited his family's wishes as a key reason for skipping the 2012 contest.

"On matters affecting us all, our family constitution gives a veto to the women's caucus, and there is no override provision," Daniels told The Indianapolis Star, referring to his wife and his four daughters.

"Simply put, I find myself caught between two duties. I love my country. I love my family more."

Daniels began telling his inner circle Saturday, then released a statement early Sunday to his supporters, many of whom had greeted his recent public appearances with chants of "Run, Mitch, run." He acknowledged his decision would disappoint some people.

"If you feel that this was a non-courageous or unpatriotic decision, I understand and will not attempt to persuade you otherwise," he said. "I only hope that you will accept my sincerity in the judgment I reached."

Daniels was widely touted as a strong GOP presidential hopeful, getting positive words and encouragement from fellow governors Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Chris Christie of New Jersey and House Speaker John Boehner, among others.

His decision is likely to further alter the race for the GOP nomination, which has been slow to catch fire. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee -- who won the 2008 Iowa caucuses -- is taking a pass, leaving other candidates to try to get his supporters among social conservatives and those in the South.

Other top GOP candidates have had to make a case for their candidacies. Mitt Romney has had to answer questions about the health care plan he signed into law as Massachusetts governor, and Gingrich has been scrambling to repair damage by his comment this month that a GOP plan on Medicare is "right-wing social engineering."

Presidential polls by Gallup and other independent organizations show the race for the GOP nod is wide open, with Romney topping the field about nine months before voters in Iowa and New Hampshire begin the nominating process. President Obama leads his GOP rivals in head-to-head matchups by an average of 5 percentage points, according to the polls compiled by the non-partisan website, RealClearPolitics.

John Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College near Los Angeles, said Sunday via e-mail that Huntsman, who recently finished his stint as U.S. ambassador to China, benefits with Daniels out of the race.

"The Daniels departure helps Huntsman. It leaves him alone in the 'serious guy with deep experience in the federal executive branch' bracket," Pitney said.

Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, tweeted Sunday: "Republicans are searching for a savior, but they may be waiting for Godot."

The spotlight on the wrenching decision facing Daniels had turned hotter since Huckabee said May 14 on his Fox News program that he would not run next year.

Cheri Daniels was recently the focus of news stories in The New York Times, The Washington Post and other publications about her husband's possible White House bid.

Those stories included details that she had divorced her husband in1993. She remarried and moved to California, only to divorce and reconcile with Mitch Daniels. The Daniels remarried in 1997.

House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who has also been encouraged to seek the presidency, said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press that he would not be a candidate next year. He said he talked to Daniels on Saturday about his decision.

"I think his candidacy would have been a great addition to this race," Ryan said.

Even Democrats said Daniels would have changed the GOP presidential race.

"We've disagreed with Mitch Daniels myriad times, but there's no doubt that his decision not to enter this race is a loss for Republicans. Daniels would have brought a serious tone to a GOP field that's thus far been characterized by silliness and distraction," said Dan Parker, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party.