Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), the youngest son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, will not seek reelection in the mid-term elections this fall, according to the Associated Press.
Kennedy, 42, will officially make the announcement via a television commercial in Road Island Sunday night. His decision to step down comes less than a year after his father's death. It will leave Congress without a Kennedy for the first time since John F. Kennedy was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946.
"My father instilled in me a deep commitment to public service," Kennedy said in the commercial. "Now having spent two decades in politics, my life has taken a new direction and I will not be a candidate for reelection this year."
Kennedy ran for office when he was just 21 and won a seat on the Road Island legislator. He would later be elected to Congress in 1995 and has represented Road Island ever since. Throughout his 15 years in Congress, Kennedy has enjoyed some key legislative victories on such issues as mental health - winning a key victory alongside his father that forces insurance companies to treat mental health disorders the same as they would physical ailments in terms of coverage and care.
"Illness took the life of my most cherished mentor and confidante, my ultimate source of spirit and strength," he said. "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."
While Kennedy has been easily re-elected twice in a predominantly Democratic district since assuming office, he has also battled many personal demons over the years, including his fight with depression and substance abuse. In 2006, he placed himself in rehab for prescription drugs after he crashed his car into a barrier in Washington D.C.
In the video, Kennedy thanks Road Island voters for their continued support and says he is committed to public service, although he provides no information in what capacity he will serve next. Democrats are expected to hold onto the seat.
"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.''
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