Rick Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history, says he won't seek re-election in 2014.
The staunch Christian and fiscal conservative said Monday he plans to retire. That sets up an opening for fellow Republican and longtime Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott in next year's GOP primary.
The 63-year-old Perry ran for president in 2011. He's best known in that campaign for uttering "Oops" during a debate after forgetting the third of three federal agencies he wanted to eliminate if elected.
Before that, Perry stirred controversy by suggesting Texas could secede from the U.S., and for shooting a coyote with a concealed handgun while jogging.
Still, he's considered the most powerful Texas governor since the Civil War because he served long enough to fill every state agency with his loyalists.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.