Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.) will not seek reelection in 2016 as he eyes a bid for statewide office in the future, he announced Tuesday morning.
“As I stated shortly after retiring from the US Army and first pursuing a seat in Congress in 2010, I planned to self-impose term limits,” the centrist Republican said in a statement. “Accordingly, after much reflection and consultation with my family, this will be my third and final time taking the oath of office as a Representative in the US House. I thank the voters of Upstate NY for this privilege to serve and pledge to continue to work tirelessly on their behalf in this final term.
“Moving forward, I will be committed to building a stronger team so that the GOP can compete and win statewide in 2018, including the possibility of being a candidate in that cycle,” Gibson added.
{mosads}The news comes just two months after Gibson trounced Democratic multi-millionaire Sean Eldridge to win his third term in the House.
Gibson’s decision marks the second retirement by a centrist Republican from a suburban swing district ripe for a Democratic pick-up in 2016. In November, Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), a proponent of term limits, said he would not be running for reelection.
Gibson’s 19th Congressional District, based in the Hudson Valley, leans blue and backed President Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections.
Eldridge, a venture capitalist and husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, had been seen as a strong contender to defeat Gibson. But his campaign fizzled after a series of unflattering media reports, and Gibson routed Eldridge by 30 points in the November midterms.
“Chris is many things: a father, husband, teacher, soldier, and friend. I know he will finish his last two years in Congress working every bit as hard for the people of New York as he has done since the day he arrived in DC four years ago,” National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden (Ore.) said in a statement. Walden didn’t reference the likely competitive race to replace Gibson that will ensue in 2016.
Roll Call first reported Gibson’s decision not to seek reelection.
—This post was updated at 10:49 a.m.