LAS VEGAS (AP) – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jack Carter, son of former President Jimmy Carter, has been released from a hospital after suffering from colitis.

Carter, 59, was released Sunday from a Las Vegas hospital, where he has been treated since being admitted Sept. 7. His father stepped in to speak at several events on his son’s behalf after Jack Carter became ill Sept. 3.

The condition, an inflammation of the colon, was caused by infection “rather than any serious, chronic disorder,” said Edward Nathan, a family friend and one of the doctors overseeing Carter’s care.

“He is completing a course of antibiotics by mouth. He’s on the mend but now has to regain his strength,” Nathan said.

Carter is seeking the U.S. Senate seat from Nevada held by incumbent Republican Sen. John Ensign, who is running for a second six-year term.

Campaign press secretary Jay Jones said it was unclear when Carter would return to full campaigning, but said the candidate had been checking e-mails and faxes and getting briefings from his hospital bed.

“He is at home primarily to recuperate and get better, not to work himself into exhaustion,” Jones said. “Once he fully recuperates, he will be able to resume campaigning and will be able to serve in the United States Senate without question.”