A Republican state senator from Tulsa announced Tuesday he will leave the legislature early next year.
Sen. Dan Newberry is resigning, effective Jan. 31, 2018. Newberry was re-elected to a third term representing District 37 in November and chaired the Senate Business and Commerce Committee this session.
"So humble the people of District 37, my people, chose to send me back to the capitol, but our primary focus has got to be about bringing more jobs to Oklahoma, improving our economic culture here in our state, diversifying our economy," Newberry said after learning he'd won re-election.
In a statement, Newberry, who is vice president of real estate development at TTCU The Credit Union, said he’s going after a promotion, and resigning is a "difficult but necessary decision" to focus on the needs of his family. Newberry and his wife, Laura, have four kids.
The governor will have to call a special election to replace him.
Newberry's will be the seventh Republican-held seat in the Oklahoma legislature vacated in the last year. Two senators and three House members have also resigned, and Republican Rep. David Brumbaugh suddenly died in April.
