The biggest news to come out of the Lee County Republican Party’s annual dinner Thursday was delivered on the heels of a joke.

Delivering the keynote address at the event in Opelika, Riley was discussing the need for Alabamians to work to elect Republicans to the Legislature when he closed the door on speculation that he might run for vice president on the ticket with nominee-to-be John McCain.

Riley mentioned the dozens of “Riley for Governor” signs lining the roads to the dinner’s location and said no one was more surprised to see them than he.

“I will never run for another office,” Riley said after the laughter died down, going on to explain that he fully intends to remain active in party politics—through fundraising, candidate recruitment, etc.—after he leaves office in January 2011.

Since McCain clinched the nomination after the Texas primary on March 4, talk among Republicans has centered on the importance his vice presidential selection will have on his ability to solidify his party’s conservative base. Riley has been mentioned as a potentially strong pick; he is a popular governor in a Southern state, he has a stellar record on job creation and his conservative credentials are impeccable.

But Riley maintains that his concerns rest primarily with wresting control of the Legislature from Democrats, whom Riley blames for railroading, reversing or just plain blocking needed reforms in tax policy, ethics and education, among other issues. He is committed, he said, to doing all he can to help elect and re-elect Republicans in Montgomery.