Jason Kander, a rising star of the Democratic party, will end his run for mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, to seek treatment for PTSD, he said Tuesday.

Kander, an Army veteran once expected to run for president in 2020, revealed he's struggled with depression since returning from Afghanistan 11 years ago.

In a note published to Medium, Kander described himself "on the phone with the VA’s Veterans Crisis Line, tearfully conceding that, yes, I have had suicidal thoughts. And it wasn’t the first time."

Kander, a former Missouri secretary of state and 2016 Senate candidate, is also founder of Let America Vote, the political engagement group he will step away from during his treatment process.

"I’m done hiding this from myself and from the world," wrote Kander, whose memoir, "Outside the Wire," released this year.

"When I wrote in my book that I was lucky to not have PTSD, I was just trying to convince myself. And I wasn’t sharing the full picture. I still have nightmares. I am depressed."

In the note, Kander says he first contacted the VA about four months ago, but wasn't honest with himself about his symptoms and what they could mean for his political aspirations.

Instead, he says, he dove into Kansas City's mayoral race, which he called an effort to "fill the hole inside of me" that was "just getting worse."

On Monday, Kander entered the VA in Kansas City to begin a regular treatment process, he says in the note.

"First, I think being honest will help me through this," Kander says in the note.

"And second, I hope it helps veterans and everyone else across the country working through mental health issues realize that you don’t have to try to solve it on your own."

Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner

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