Indiana Gov. Daniels will decide on 2012 bid in April

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) said that he'll likely decide on whether or not he'll run for president sometime by the end of April.

The dark-horse contender for the GOP nomination in 2012 said he'd decide on whether or not to run for the White House after his state's legislature wraps up its session next spring.

"I think the decision has to come at the end of this General Assembly session, if not before. No later than that," Daniels told Indiana news station WANE.

"In fairness to people from all over the place — many of whom I've only read about before — who like this idea [of Daniels running for president], I owe them some kind of an answer," he added.

The state's general assembly is set to finish its work by late April.

"We're concerned with the lack of conservative candidates with proven experience," said one GOP staffer on Capitol Hill with ties to efforts encouraging Daniels to run. "Anyone can have a policy position, but Daniels has experience turning around a crippled economy and budget. We don't need more pundits, we need a leader."

Daniels, a former director of the Office of Management and Budget, has been talked about as an under-the-radar candidate for president in 2012. He hasn't built a major organization or national profile the way other candidates have — though with the 2012 primary season appearing to be headed toward a later start, he has plenty of time.

The Indiana fiscal hawk has talked down running for president before, leading some observers to suspect that he might ultimately decline to run, especially in a crowded GOP field.

"The simple fact is, I don't plan to do it. I don't expect to do it, I really don't want to do it," he said in February. "I'm just very concerned about the condition and direction of the country and would like to have some input into a constructive Republican alternative that is presented in a way that has a chance of actually being enacted."