Rep. John Yarmuth won't seek re-election next year

Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Rep. John Yarmuth, chairman of the House Committee on the Budget, announced Tuesday he won't seek re-election next year.

The Democrat from Kentucky said he's retiring from the chamber after what will be 16 years in Congress.

"The truth be told, I never expected to be in Congress this long," Yarmuth said in a video statement on Twitter. "Candidly, I have found new and incomparable joy in spending time with my young grandson."

Yarmuth has represented Kentucky's 3rd congressional district since 2007. It encompasses nearly all of Louisville and is the only Democratic district in the state.

In addition to the budget committee, he's served on the education and labor, and ways and means committees.

Prior to joining Congress, he largely worked in publishing, founding both the Louisville Today magazine and the Louisville Eccentric Observer newspaper. He was also vice president of university relations at University of Louisville for three years in the 1980s.