CLEVELAND — For North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard M. Burr, 2016 will be his final election for the Senate.   

Burr told the Tar Heel State GOP delegation Wednesday morning that he would not be running again for the Senate after this November.  

He spoke at the delegation’s breakfast, ahead of the third night of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Burr said he looked forward to someday calling freshman GOP Sen. Thom Tillis the senior senator from North Carolina.  

The decision to not run again after 2016, Burr said, came down to his age and a desire to eventually return to the private sector and spend more time with his family.   

“It’s real simple,” he said. “I’m beginning to get old.”  

But Burr made it clear that he has every intention of running hard this year. He faces a competitive re-election race against former state Rep. Deborah Ross.  

North Carolina’s senior senator is one of just a handful of Republican senators up for re-election in the fall who have made an appearance in Cleveland this week. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin addressed the floor Tuesday night and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman has held events in the area.   

Burr said he was not asked to speak at the convention, but he’s open to campaigning with GOP nominee Donald Trump in North Carolina.   

The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee was first elected to the Senate in 2004. The Rothenberg and Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call rates his re-election race Leans Republican .