Twenty-four hours after announcing he would not seek a second term, Governor Blunt met with the media to explain why.

Despite vigorous questioning from reporters packed from wall to wall, Governor Blunt kept a positive tone.

The governor wouldn't specifically answer why he chose not to seek a second term, but he did say he wants to spend more time with his family.

He also said that he won't back away from Missouri politics and his political agenda just because his time is up next year.

"I will not seek a second term in the up-coming election," said Governor Blunt.

Reporters bombarded what appeared to be a very relaxed governor with specifics as to who knew about his decision and whether it was before or after the State of the State address last week.

"The definitive decision was made afterwards, this was something I had been thinking about, praying about, for several days and ultimately made the decision it was best to move on," Blunt said.

Regarding his future, Blunt said, "Everybody assumes every candidate is in there to run for this office and then the next one and get to the highest possible office they can achieve and hold it as long as possible. I don't think that's good for the political process and it's certainly not my objective."

Governor Blunt answered one of the biggest questions of the day regarding the campaign money he has raised so far.

"A significant portion will be refunded because of changes in campaign finance laws due to the court ruling, so a significant portion will be refunded. There will be some costs associated with winding down our effort, and then we'll make a decision," explained Blunt.

He declined to name any fellow Republicans as potential candidates to replace him.

Without a campaign to worry about, Blunt says he'll continue to focus on Missouri politics. He did not indicate whether he'll return to Springfield next January.