For a record 24 governors leaving office, the choices are many. One is already running for president. A few are becoming lobbyists, wielding their clout for cash. Less-traveled paths beckon, too -- hosting a TV show, climbing Mount Everest, tooling around the country in an RV.
And don't sell retirement short.
"I'll tell you one thing: I'm not going to ever run for office again," said term-limited Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist, a Republican who after eight years aims to retire to his mountain home. "It's going to be Martha-time. That's my wife."
Most of the soon-to-be-former governors -- 14 of them -- were barred by law from seeking another term. Six chose not to run, and voters decided to oust four.
In South Dakota, four-term Gov. Bill Janklow is headed to Congress. New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen's run for the Senate failed, so her immediate plan is to be with her daughter when her third grandchild is born next month.
After reaching the pinnacle of Vermont politics, Gov. Howard Dean is aiming higher -- to the presidency. The Democrat has already made dozens of visits to early presidential primary states such as New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina. His 11 years running Vermont is a big selling point for his presidential campaign.
"You can really make an important difference in people's lives," said Dean, who also is a physician. "I don't get all the credit -- there's the legislature, the policy people -- but I'm the one that makes it happen."
After years of wielding power, at least two governors are taking lucrative jobs as lobbyists to try and influence the powerful.
Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, who earned $101,000 this past year, will become CEO and president of the American Council of Life Insurers, a Washington-based lobbying organization.
Neither the council nor Keating's office would say how much he'll earn, but the council's former president -- and former South Carolina Gov. Carroll Campbell -- had a $1 million salary.
Keating will also continue his public service. The Republican was chosen by the nation's Roman Catholic bishops to lead the National Review Board, a group charged with ensuring dioceses are meeting new disciplinary standards after a year of sex abuse scandals.
Kansas's GOP Gov. Bill Graves is also becoming a lobbyist, taking a job as president of the Washington-based American Trucking Association.
Whether President Bush taps any GOP governors for his administration, as he did when he took office, has yet to be seen. Michigan Gov. John Engler, Graves, Keating and Arizona Gov. Jane Hull all are rumored to be possibilities, said Norm Ornstein at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
Some governors aren't saying now what they plan to do, including all four governors who lost bids for re-election -- Democrats Don Siegelman of Alabama, Roy Barnes of Georgia, Jim Hodges of South Carolina, and Republican Scott McCallum of Wisconsin.
Others are weighing their choices.
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Almond plans on relaxing and tinkering at home while Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano looks forward to gardening.
New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson hopes to climb Mount Everest in the spring, and then start a foundation aiming to end the war against drugs.
Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening has talked about working on environmental issues, Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer aims to go into business and technology, and Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, a doctor, wants to help shape national policy on health care and prescription drugs.
The nation's two independent governors -- Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura and Maine Gov. Angus King -- are continuing to follow their independent ways.
Ventura, a former professional wrestler, has been in discussions with MSNBC to host a TV show. He has put off any announcement until his term ends, but has warned reporters he'll be "more dangerous" to them in his new job.
King, on the other hand, has mapped out a vastly different plan _ with pins on a large map in his living room. He and his wife bought a 40-foot mobile home and are planning a six-month tour of the country, home schooling their two children along the way.
After that, King's not sure what comes next. The former businessman might teach, he might go back into business, he might write.
"My wife says whatever I do, it won't involve a coat and tie," he said.
Copyright 2002. Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
