Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announces that she is stepping down from her position as governor at her Lake Lucille home Friday.

Wasilla, Alaska ? Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin abruptly announced Friday she is resigning from office at the end of the month, a shocking move that rattled the Republican party but left open the possibility she would seek a run for the White House in 2012.

Palin, 45, and her staff kept her future plans shrouded in mystery, and it was unclear if the controversial hockey mom would quietly return to private life or begin laying the foundation for a presidential bid.

Palin’s spokesman, David Murrow, said the governor didn’t say anything to him about this being her “political finale.” He said he interpreted Palin’s comment about working outside government as reflecting her current job only.

“She’s looking forward to serving the public outside the governor’s chair,” he said.

And Pam Pryor, a spokeswoman for Palin’s political action committee SarahPAC, said the group continues to accept donations on its Web site, with an uptick in funds after Palin’s announcement.

The announcement caught even current and former Palin advisers by surprise. Former members of the John McCain campaign team, now dispersed across the country, traded perplexed e-mails and phone calls.

But personal pressures have been mounting — scrutiny on her family, legal bills, ethics investigations and a running, public feud with McCain’s camp that has flared up again.

In a hastily arranged news conference at her home in suburban Wasilla, Palin said she will formally step down July 26, and Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated at the governor’s picnic in Fairbanks. She said she had decided against running for re-election as Alaska’s governor, and believed it was best to leave office even though she had well over a year left to her term.

“Many just accept that lame duck status, and they hit that road. They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I’m not going to put Alaskans through that,” she said.

Running in 2012?

The 2008 vice presidential nominee was seen as a likely presidential contender in 2012 and had proved formidable among the party’s base. But the last week brought a highly critical piece in Vanity Fair magazine, with unnamed campaign aides questioning if Palin was ever really prepared for the presidency. The backbiting continued with follow-up articles recounting the nasty infighting that plagued her failed bid. Her advisers sniped with other Republicans, underscoring the deeply divided GOP looking for its next standard bearer.

Meghan Stapleton, Palin’s spokeswoman, shot down speculation that ranged wildly from Palin dropping out of politics altogether to eyeing runs against fellow Alaska Republicans U.S. Rep. Don Young and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Palin’s comment about serving outside government refers to the present, she said.

Stapleton, however, said it’s too early to say whether Palin would seek the presidency. In the meantime, the governor will continue to work “toward affecting positive change as a citizen without a title right now,” she said.

“Her vision is what’s best for Alaska, which translates into what’s best for America,” Stapleton said.