Despite earlier reports that he was ready and set to go, Joseph P. Kennedy III will not seek election to Rep. William Delahunt’s seat, the Barnstable County, Massachusetts, assistant district attorney said.

"Where I’m at right now is I’ve got a job that I love and a place that I enjoy," he said.

Delahunt has said he is considering retiring from Congress when his term ends this year. Kennedy, 29, said he will not run no matter what Delahunt decides.

Although the Kennedy family is often considered the king-making political power in the state, the young Kennedy said the decision was his.

“My family in particular knows the decision to run for office is a very personal one,” he said. “They’ve been very supportive as I’ve been trying to think about it. It was my decision alone.”

Kennedy, a former Peace Corps member, has been very active in state Democratic circles since first coming on the scene in 2006 when he and his twin brother, Matt, co-chaired the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s last Senate campaign. At times, he has been with Delahunt at 10th District events, fueling rumors that he was interested in running.

Democratic political consultant Michael O'Shea said Kennedy would have been the natural front-runner.

"Any time a Kennedy gets into a race, everybody better think twice," he told the Boston Globe.

"You are running against history, against a legacy, while at the same time you are trying to tell people who you are. The Kennedy name has immediate cachet with Democrats."