Topeka ? Attorney General Carla Stovall moved closer Monday to officially ending her campaign for the Republican nomination for governor. A close friend said she was never “real excited” about the race.

In Wichita, television station KSNW said it had confirmed that Stovall was leaving the race. The NBC affiliate said it would broadcast an interview with Stovall later Monday in which she discusses her reasons.

While Stovall was overseas last week, speculation was rampant that she would drop her bid for the GOP nomination. She planned an announcement at 1:30 p.m. Monday in the lobby outside her Topeka office.

Met by an AP reporter outside her office late Monday morning, she refused to comment, telling him only, “One-thirty.”

Before that announcement, she told the Wichita-based Mid-America Ag Network that she regretted not making her announcement before leaving last week for an overseas trip. The same interview includes Stovall’s answer about her campaign plans, but she imposed an embargo on those comments.

She told the broadcast network that she had wanted to avoid “this kind of nonsense,” referring to the speculation about her plans.

“I wish I had made the full decision public before I left,” she said.

Stovall, 45, and Larry Steckline, 60, the ag network’s owner, vacationed together last week in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and returned to Wichita on Sunday.

Steckline, a widower, said Monday that he and the attorney general have had a relationship for the past four months.

“So that’s not news, quite honestly, and a great relationship it is,” Steckline told his network.

“As far as her political aspirations are concerned, that’s her business,” Steckline said. “But I must tell you, she has made up her mind on a couple of things, including running for governor.”

Stovall said she made her decision about her political future before she left on the overseas trip.

Asked if he had any say in Stovall’s decision, Steckline said, “No, I sure don’t. I could care less, either direction.”

But, he added, “I must tell you that she hasn’t been real excited about the governorship from day one.”

Many prominent Republicans thought they already knew what Stovall’s decision would be and have been talking about who might jump into the governor’s race with her anticipated departure.

Stovall’s lieutenant-governor running mate, House Speaker Kent Glasscock, does not plan a statement about his own plans until after Stovall’s announcement.

But Lt. Gov. Gary Sherrer has said he will announce by Wednesday whether he will run for governor. Senate President Dave Kerr plans to disclose his intentions after the Legislature ends its session in May.

Already in the race for the GOP nomination are State Treasurer Tim Shallenburger, considered the conservatives’ choice, and Wichita Mayor Bob Knight. Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius is the only announced Democratic candidate.

Last year, moderates united behind Stovall in hopes of defeating Shallenburger in a one-on-one primary race between the party’s two feuding camps. Knight’s entry in January made the race more complicated.

Stovall, 45, is serving her second term as attorney general, having been elected in 1994 after serving on the Kansas Parole Board and as Crawford County attorney. She won re-election in 1998 with more than 75 percent of the vote.