GOP Rep. Chris Gibson of New York to retire after this term

This post was updated:

On the same he was sworn into Congress for a third time, GOP Rep. Chris Gibson of New York prepared his exit from Washington.

The former Army officer announced Tuesday he will not seek re-election in 2016 and will end his political career short of the four terms he vowed to serve. Gibson's retirement would open up a district in New York's Hudson Valley that was won by President Obama in 2012 and 2008.

"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 U.S. House," Gibson said as he declared his priorities for his last term and thanked New York voters.

Gibson easily defeated Sean Eldridge, a venture capitalist and husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, in the 2014 election. Democrats had initially hoped to defeat Gibson, but Eldridge ran a poor campaign.

In his statement, Gibson said he wants to build a stronger team "so that the GOP can compete and win statewide in 2018" and left open the possibility that he'll be a candidate during that election cycle.

Kelly Ward, executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the fight for the House seat "will be one of the most competitive in the country as Republicans try to defend their indefensible special-interest agenda against a strong Democratic candidate who reflects the values of the district and will stand up for the middle class."

Gibson's intentions were first reported by CQ Roll Call.