Few can muster the candor of the late Marvin Griffin when he announced that he was retiring from gubernatorial politics in Georgia because of "health problems."

But what propelled her to the level of gubernatorial politics was her surprising showing in a 1989 race against Senator Bill Bradley, a Democrat.

"I would not let gubernatorial politics play a role at all," maintained Mr. Russo.

Some Democratic strategists said that their party was suffering because it did not build its second string when it dominated gubernatorial politics.

Dina Matos McGreevey had a life before she became the governor's wife, and still had her own agenda far outside the realm of gubernatorial politics.

But the proposal quickly got caught up in gubernatorial politics.

But few could have predicted just how complicated New Jersey's arena politics would become once it veered into the thicket of gubernatorial politics.

Carla Marinucci is a political reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, specializing in California state gubernatorial politics and national politics.

Mr. Giuliani declined to be interviewed for this article, saying through his spokeswoman that he did not want to get involved in gubernatorial politics.

Time to Build Base "I think it's a real mistake to get into gubernatorial politics at this date," she said in an interview.