The news broke an hour or so ago tonight… Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy will not run for re-election. Kennedy will “retire after eight terms in office, bringing an end to his House career just months after his father, legendary Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, passed away.”
“My father instilled in me a deep commitment to public service,” Kennedy said in a video announcing his retirement. “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.”
As Chris Cillizza points out on The Fix, “Patrick Kennedy’s retirement means that for the first time in nearly five decades there will not be a member of the Kennedy family in Congress.”
I always fashioned myself as a Kennedy (and Kerry) Democrat. I’m saddened to hear that Kennedy will retire and I hope he will continue on to do great things for the people of America in the tradition of his father and the Kennedy family.
Politico notes “a source” close to Kennedy also said that “Kennedy “wouldn’t rule out” a run for office in the future, including the Senate, but said he has no plans to do so now.” Perhaps Kennedy might consider testing the Senate waters here in Massachusetts in 2012, when Republican Scott Brown will need to run for a full term in Ted Kennedy’s seat.
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