INDIANAPOLIS -- Fourth District Republican Rep. Steve Buyer announced Friday that he won't seek another term in the House, citing his wife's terminal illness.

Buyer, 51, of Monticello, has been in the House since 1993, first representing the 5th District before redistricting in the wake of the 2000 census moved him to the heavily-Republican 4th district.

Buyer's district spans from a portion of northern Indiana to areas west and southwest of Indianapolis. He won re-election in 2008 with 60 percent of the vote, even as Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since 1964.

Buyer choked back tears as he made the announcement during a news conference Friday, saying "it's been an honor."

The congressman didn't go into detail about his wife's illness, saying only that it is a terminal autoimmune sickness.

Buyer said Joni was first tested in November, and the diagnosis was confirmed Friday, which is why the news conference was held at Indiana University Hospital, 6News' Norman Cox reported. Her sister died from the same illness 21 months ago.

"I'm not going to call it incurable, because it's our faith that allows us to believe that all diseases can be cured," Buyer said. "As part of Jonie's prognosis, she is to de-stress her life."

Buyer, the top Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, plans to serve out the remainder of his term.

"Politically, the easiest thing for me to do would have been to run again, especially with the present wave that is coming for the American people eager to take back their country," Buyer said. "There are many things I will miss doing, but now is the time to step back and focus on Joni."

He has faced questions in recent months about a private scholarship foundation he created that had raised more than $880,000 since 2003 without awarding any scholarships. He has defended his handling of the foundation.

Gov. Mitch Daniels praised Buyer's tenure in the House in a statement released Friday afternoon.

“Steve Buyer came back from Desert Storm to become part of a reform movement that took Washington by storm. He has served Indiana and his country well for 18 years," Daniels said. "We thank him for his service and know he'll continue to find ways to extend it in private life."

State Sen. Brandt Hershman, Buyer's district operations director, is widely considered a likely candidate to run for Buyer's seat, but he wouldn't talk about that Friday.

The seat will be difficult for any candidate, because it will likely be drastically reconfigured if a bill in the Legislature to make districts more compact is approved.

"I think that several will look at it seriously. Many ... will look at it seriously," said Murray Clark, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party. "How many of those in the end actually go to the mat, I don't know."

Purdue University biology professor David Sanders, who lost badly to Buyer in the 2004 and 2006 elections, is the only Democrat to announce a campaign.

"We're gonna look for somebody that can transcend party labels and bring people together to run in a tough district, and also who can put money together to run in a very expensive district, as well," said Dan Parker, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party.

Candidates face a Feb. 19 deadline to file for the May 4 primary.