INDIANAPOLIS -- First-term state Rep. Jon Elrod will announce Thursday that he'll run for U.S. Rep. Julia Carson's 7th District congressional seat next year, an aide to Elrod said.

Elrod, an Indianapolis Republican who defeated incumbent Ed Mahern in state House district 97 last year, will announce his candidacy at noon, said the aide, who later requested that he not be named.

Elrod declined to confirm directly to 6News what he would be announcing, but when asked about the seat held by Carson, a Democrat who has been away from Washington for several weeks while recovering from a leg infection, he answered as if he were running for it.

Elrod, when answering a question that assumed his candidacy, said his decision to run had nothing to do with the possibility that the ailing Carson might not seek re-election. He said he hopes Carson returns and conducts a strong campaign, 6News' Norman Cox reported.

In a taped interview aired last week on Indianapolis radio station WTLC, Carson didn't say "yes" or "no" when asked whether she would seek a seventh term.

Carson, who has represented the Indianapolis district in Congress for about 11 years, has been away from Washington since she was admitted to an Indianapolis hospital Sept. 21 for about a week for treatment of a leg infection.

She went to a rehabilitation center about Oct. 1 and said in a statement two weeks ago that she was working from home.

Carson's leg had a deep infection near where a vein was removed in January 1997 when she underwent double heart bypass surgery.

In a statement released Oct. 31, Carson said she hopes to return to Washington by mid-December.