Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy is retiring from the House after eight terms in office, AP reports.

"Now having spent two decades in politics, my life is taking a new direction, and I will not be a candidate for re-election this year," Kennedy says in a taped statement that will be played Sunday on local TV stations.

While his late father's Massachusetts Senate seat was won by a Republcian last month, Kennedy's House district is heavily Democratic and he never won re-election with less than 60 percent of the vote -- including 2008, when he won by a 45-point margin. The 1st District is the eastern half of the state's two House districts, and includes Pawtucket and Newport.

UPDATE: DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen expressed confidence in a statement this afternoon that Democrats would hold on to the seat. "We are confident that a Democrat who shares Congressman's Kennedy commitment to public service, particularly during these difficult economic times, will continue to serve the 1st District with the same passion that Congressman Kennedy has throughout his tenure in Congress," he said.