DENVER -- Fellow Colorado Democrats are welcoming Interior Secretary Ken Salazar home following his announcement today that he will step down from his post and return to the state in March. Already there is speculation about whether Salazar, a former senator and Colorado attorney general, will want to return to state politics.

"For all of his contributions and leadership in our nation's capital, Ken Salazar remains a Coloradan at heart, and after years of service to the country, we all look forward to the next chapter for him," Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio said in a statement today.

But whether that next chapter includes another political post remains to be seen.

During the 2012 election cycle, Salazar, who campaigned for President Obama's re-election, frequently faced questions about his own political future but typically sidestepped the inquiries by citing how much he enjoys being Interior secretary.

"Often, when I am asked if I would be offered a job like attorney general or something else within the Cabinet, would I consider it, I'd say, 'No!' That's because I already have the best job in the United States of America," Salazar said at a September speech at the University of Colorado, Boulder. "I'm proud in that role to serve as a custodian of America's natural resources and America's natural heritage."

Salazar similarly deflected inquires about whether he would seek a state office in the future in a question-and-answer session with reporters after that event.

"We still have a lot of work to do. That's what I'm focused on now," Salazar said at that time (Greenwire, Sept. 17, 2012).

Among his options, it appears unlikely Salazar could seek a return to the Senate in the near future, with Sen. Mark Udall (D) seeking re-election in 2014 and Sen. Michael Bennet (D) not up for re-election until 2016.

"Ken and I have worked together for more than a decade to protect Colorado and the West's land, air and water. He understands that we don't inherit the Earth from our parents -- we borrow it from our children," Udall, chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources National Parks Subcommittee, said in a statement today. "Ken knows that principle and has worked to leave our nation better than how he found it. We still have a lot to do in Colorado and across our country, but I look forward to continuing this important work."

Before Salazar's decision to seek a Senate seat in 2004 -- he succeeded retiring Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R) by defeating Coors Brewing Co. Chairman Pete Coors (R) -- it was widely assumed he was preparing to seek the governor's office in 2006.

But Salazar instead jumped into the 2004 Senate race at the urging of national Democratic leaders, easing out Udall -- then a congressman who was also interested in the job -- when he became convinced he could win.

Whether Salazar -- once a popular state official, serving as the state attorney general in the early 2000s and as executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources in the early 1990s -- could renew his gubernatorial ambitions will depend in large part on whether current Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) seeks re-election in 2014 or winds up in Obama's second-term Cabinet.

Hickenlooper has stated his intention to seek a second term, but he is often listed among potential candidates for the 2016 presidential cycle, with some political observers suggesting Hickenlooper could opt out of re-election to focus on the White House race.

While Colorado-based Republican consultant Dick Wadhams, former chairman of the state GOP, acknowledged Salazar could be a formidable candidate if he opts to seek office -- at the same time arguing that his bid could be affected by Obama's popularity over the next two years -- he also suggested Salazar, who is 57, may not want to return to elected office.

"It's not a foregone conclusion," Wadhams said. "Secretary Salazar might be able to enter private life."