Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

Gov. Mary Fallin says she will retire from politics when she steps down as governor in January and will not pursue elective office again.

The Oklahoman reports that Fallin on Friday said she wants to spend more time with her family .

The 63-year-old Republican has been in politics since she was 35, when she began serving as a state representative.

Fallin later was elected the first female lieutenant governor, a position she held for 12 years. She then served in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms before being elected in 2010 as the first female governor of Oklahoma.

Fallin and her husband, Wade Christensen, have six children and recently welcomed their first grandchild.