Sarah Palin

[Samof94]

Why did she not run yet discussed it a lot??? I’m not saying she could have won, but she seemed like she could have run as a low tier candidate easily.

[Stranger in a strange land]

As others have said, looking at the mess around Troopergate is probably a good place to start.

[Redban]

She left her governorship in 2009 at age 45 (with high approval ratings), and she didn't run for office again until 2022, aged 58. Ages 45 through 58 are often considered prime age for a politician. But she sat them out.

I get the sense she probably just didn't want to be in politics at that time.

[Sumner 1868]

The media wanted her to run for cheap ratings, but everyone knew she couldn't win so she didn't.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I suspect she was privately realistic and knew that she wasn't up to the Big Job.

The media certainly ganged up on her, seeking to make her look bad, but it wasn't a hard task.  Joe Biden, the guy who, nowadays, can't speak without a teleprompter (and screws that up) defeated Palin in debate fairly soundly.  I believe that the experience of the 2008 campaign seriously humbled Palin to the point where she realized she was out of her league.  (If only that experience had happened to Pete Buttigieg.)

[ClassicElectionEnthusiast]

I think it's clear 2012 was probably her best (if not only realistic) chance at running based on her name recognition from being the 2008 VP nominee.

On the other hand, Palin probably would have had a tough hill to climb just from all of the family drama surrounding her plus (assuming she resigns as she did in real life) being saddled with the label of a "quitter" who gets going when the going gets tough.