Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, told reporters on Friday he will not seek a third term in office next year.
Mr. Baker, 68, has served as governor of Massachusetts since 2015. He is the first Republican to hold the office since 1991.
“I just concluded that after two terms, it’s probably time for me to do some other things,” he said Friday, in a press conference following his regular monthly meeting with lawmakers from both parties.
He noted that he has worked very hard, but it has been “the right time to take some different approaches and some different paths in life.”
“It’s not my first rodeo and I’m not retiring,” he added.
The governor’s job, he noted, can be quite demanding.
“It’s tough on anybody who’s never been in government and is facing a lot of the decisions and challenges that I’ve faced,” he said.
Mr. Baker noted that he and his wife, Lauren, are expecting their third child in the spring. And he said it has been “a great joy to build these relationships with other governors and legislators and members of the administration.”
“But I don’t think it makes sense for me to have that big of a commitment,” he said.
Mr. Baker served as secretary of administration and finance and chief executive of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority prior to becoming governor.