Patrick Kennedy won’t seek re-election

UPDATED:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s decision not to seek re-election will leave Washington without a Kennedy in political office for the first time in more than 60 years.

The Rhode Island Democrat’s term ends early next year but he says in a television message viewed by The Associated Press on Thursday that his life is “taking a new direction” and he will not seek a ninth term. The video was provided to the AP by Kennedy’s congressional office.

The 42-year-old son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy does not give a reason for the decision but says it has been a difficult few years for many people and he mentions the death in August of his father.

“Illness took the life of my most cherished mentor and confidante, my ultimate source of spirit and strength,” he said, as a black-and-white photo of him as a boy sailing with his father appeared on the screen. “From the countless lives he lifted, to the American promise he helped shape, my father taught me that politics at its very core was about serving others.”

The announcement is to air Sunday on Rhode Island television stations.

The decision comes less than a month after a stunning upset by Republican Scott Brown in the race for the Massachusetts Senate seat his father held for almost half a century. Last week, as Brown was sworn into the seat, Patrick Kennedy called Brown’s candidacy a “joke” and predicted Brown would betray his union supporters.

Mark Weiner, a major Democratic fundraiser in Rhode Island and one of Kennedy’s top financial backers, said he had spoken with Kennedy recently, and that his father’s death had taken an enormous toll.

“It’s tough to get up and go to work every day when your partner is not there,” Weiner said. “I think he just had a broken heart after his father passed away.”

Kennedy said in his ad that he remained committed to public service, and he thanked Rhode Island voters for supporting him through ups and downs.

He has been in and out of treatment for substance abuse since crashing his car outside the U.S Capitol in 2006. Still, he has been comfortably re-elected twice since then, after making mental health care his signature issue in Washington.

“When I made missteps or suffered setbacks, you responded not with contempt, but compassion,” he said. “Thank you for all the times you lifted me up, pushed me forward and filled my heart with hope.”

Kennedy was not specific about his plans, but said he would continue to fight for issues on behalf of those suffering from depression, addiction, autism and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Now having spent two decades in politics, my life is taking a new direction,” Kennedy says.

Story Continues →