It's now official.

Roy Moore is not running for governor.

Twice elected as the state's Supreme Court chief justice and twice a candidate for governor, Moore did not declare his candidacy and pay his entrance fee by the close of the qualifying window Friday at 5 p.m.

After Moore failed in his bid to win a seat in the U.S. Senate last year, there were speculation and rumors that he might shift his focus to the race for governor.

His silence, however, appears to have answered that question.

Moore never indicated he was even considering jumping back into a political campaign even as the inevitable speculation continued.

During the Senate campaign, which Democrat Doug Jones won, the governor's race was considered to be a fallback option for candidates. But none of the Senate candidates are running for governor.

While Moore is not running for governor, he's not eligible to seek another term on the state Supreme Court. Alabama law prevents anyone over the age of 70 being elected to a judicial position. Moore turns 71 on Sunday.

Moore was suspended from the court in 2016 for refusing to enforce a U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. He later resigned from the court to run for Senate.

Rich Hobson, a longtime Moore aide who served as his campaign manager in the Senate race, has qualified to run in the GOP primary for the 2nd Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. Martha Roby.