How “strongly” is Gov. Matt Mead leaning toward a run for a second term?

“Strongly, strongly, strongly, strongly,” Mead told the Powell Tribune Friday.

The governor was elected in 2010 and has been widely viewed as a candidate for a second term. But in 2013, he said he wasn’t sure he would run again, saying his wife wanted him to devote more time to his family, especially since he had already devoted several years to public service.

During an appearance in Lovell last summer, Mead, 51, said he would make his mind up in early 2014.

That decision appears to be made.

“We’ll announce after the session,” Mead said after speaking to Wyoming journalists at the Wyoming Press Association’s 115th Annual Winter Convention.

Mead, a Republican, made what sounded a lot like a campaign speech at the convention. No Democratic candidate has stepped forward, but Cindy Hill, the embattled state superintendent of public instruction, is running against Mead for the Republican nomination. Taylor Haynes, also a Republican, is running for governor again, after seeking the position as a write-in candidate in 2010.

Hill also attended the convention, which was held in Laramie, but she did not make a speech or hold a press conference. She said despite the legislative investigation of her tenure in office and the fact that Mead and the Legislature stripped her of most of her duties and power last year, she is holding up and dedicated to making a strong run for governor.