I believe the GOP-e made that plain to her in the latter part of September 2012.
Up until then, she was the natural candidate to run against President Obama. Heck, she was the main voice of opposition for over 3 years. Then, at the last minute, she dropped out.
Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, it was probably for the best. I don’t believe her family could have endured the garbage that would have been thrown their way.
The Professional Politicians have just about succeeded in driving any decent folks out of public service.
No question. Steel skin is required by today’s Republicans, especially conservative ones, to survive in the toxic atmosphere of dc. Of course the minute you leave dc....it all changes.....