Rep. Kennedy won’t run for reelection in Rhode Island

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Rep. Patrick Kennedy has decided not to seek reelection after eight terms in Congress, saying his life is “taking a new direction” months after the death of his father and mentor, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

The Rhode Island Democrat taped a message announcing his decision to be aired on the state’s television stations Sunday night. The Associated Press viewed the message Thursday ahead of the announcement.

“Now having spent two decades in politics, my life is taking a new direction, and I will not be a candidate for reelection this year,” Kennedy says.

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 in, Patrick Kennedy called Brown’s candidacy a “joke” and predicted the new senator would betray his union supporters.

Kennedy did not give a reason for his decision to leave office, but he began the message by saying it had been a difficult few years for many people, then segued into the death of his father.

“Illness took the life of my most cherished mentor and confidant, 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.”

-- Associated Press