Patrick Kennedy, Son of Ted Kennedy, to Retire From Congress

U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) has announced that he will not run for reelection. Kennedy is the youngest son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, who died in 2009.

In a video, Kennedy explains, "My father instilled in me a deep commitment to public service. Now having spent two decades in politics, my life has taken a new direction and I will not be a candidate for re-election this year."

The younger Kennedy first ran for office when he was 21 and won a seat in the Rhode Island legislature. He has represented Rhode Island in Congress since 1995. He serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and ran the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a post known to groom rising stars in the party for future leadership positions.

Depression and substance abuse problems overshadowed Kennedy's most recent years in office, but he did succeed in passing key legislation, along with his father, to force insurance companies to treat mental health disorders just as they do as physical ailments in terms of coverage and access for consumers.

During his years in Congress, Kennedy could often be seen with his father on Capitol Hill and was visibly distraught over his father's diagnosis of brain cancer and subsequent death last August. His retirement will mark the first time since 1962 that a member of the Kennedy family is not serving in the House or Senate.

Kennedy is 42 and has never married.

The video announcing his decision is below.