Story highlights Springer said that he came to the decision after Thanksgiving dinner with his family

He said he wasn't prepared for the five-year commitment of campaigning and governing

Washington (CNN) Jerry Springer will not run for governor of Ohio in 2018, he announced Thursday on his podcast.

"It's not something as a husband and a father and a grandfather that I can do at this point," the TV host and former Democratic Cincinnati mayor told Jene Galvin, his friend and podcast co-host.

Springer said that he came to the decision after Thanksgiving dinner with his family.

"They love me, so they say you've got to do what you want to do," he said. "Well, no. I've got to do what I know deep in their hearts they want and what could make their life better."

He also noted that if he were elected, he would take office just a month before his 75th birthday, and wasn't prepared for the five-year commitment of campaigning and governing.

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