PITTSBURGH — Republican Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai announced Thursday he will not run for re-election, ending the career of a conservative force in state government in a critical year when Democrats are aiming to take control of the chamber.

Turzai, 60, made the announcement at a news conference at his office in his suburban Pittsburgh district with his wife and youngest son and a couple dozen supporters, occasionally tearing up when describing his decision to leave a job he said he loves.

However, he also described the long hours away from home and on the road, saying that serving in the job has been the privilege of a lifetime, but that it is time for someone else to take his place.

“I've made this decision knowing I've left it all on the field,” Turzai said.

Turzai also seemed to put aside any talk of running for higher office, after pursuing — and then abandoning — bids for lieutenant governor, Congress and governor in the past 15 years.

State Rep. Jim Marshall, R-14th, was one of the colleagues who surrounded Turzai as he made his announcement late Thursday morning.

Marshall considers Turzai a mentor.

“He's been really strong at shepherding new members, especially those from (Western Pennsylvania),” Marshall said. “Mike has been in leadership since I've been (a state representative) and he's served with integrity and class.”

Marshall has long admired Turzai's conservative tenets, on which he has never wavered.

“He's been fiscally conservative and led on stopping broad-based tax increases,” Marshall said. “I'm sure if he chooses to go to the private sector or some other public office, he will be an asset and a leader.”

State Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, also shared the dais in support of Turzai when he made his announcement.

“It was an emotional time for him,” she said. “He did not make the decision lightly.”

Mustello appreciates Turzai's strong advocacy of Western Pennsylvania issues in the House.

“He understands Western Pennsylvania values and that's what I'm really going to miss about him,” she said.

Mustello said Turzai and his staff are always accommodating to freshman representatives and provide any guidance necessary. She said she will also miss his wife, Lydia, and the couple's kids.

Turzai was first elected in 2001, becoming speaker in 2015 after four years as House majority leader. He emerged as a force for fiscal and social conservatism in state government as well as a powerhouse fundraiser for the House Republican majority.

State Rep. Jeffrey Pyle, R-60th, called Turzai one of the leading conservative voices in the House over the 15 years Pyle has served in Harrisburg.

“He is a very driven, principled man,” Pyle said. “He's also a problem solver and he knows how to get things done.”

Turzai can always be counted upon to offer the conservative perspective on every issue, Pyle said.

Pyle is thrilled that his colleague will now get to go home and see his children every day, although it will be a loss for the caucus.

“Like the passage from the Good Book says, 'I've fought the good fight and run the good race,' and that's exactly what Mike Turzai has done,” Pyle said.

Without someone ready to fill Turzai's big fundraising shoes, his departure could boost Democrats' efforts to win control of the chamber for the first time since 2010. Democrats also could put more effort into winning his district, once a solidly Republican bastion that is changing.

Democrats suggested Turzai is fleeing a tough re-election campaign and the prospect of losing the speaker's job next year when Democrats take control. In the 2018 election, Democrats picked up 11 seats and are nine short of a majority in the 203-seat chamber.

“Mike Turzai called it quits today for one main reason — he knows his tenure as speaker is on borrowed time,” Leanne Krueger, chairwoman of the Pennsylvania House Democratic Campaign Committee, said in a statement issued Thursday following the announcement.

Sincere Harris, executive director of the state Democratic Party, went a step further.

“Turzai's not riding into the sunset, he's running away from a tough re-election campaign and toward a cushy private-sector job,” Harris said. “Turzai has spent his career putting the wealthiest special interests before Pennsylvania's working families.

“He has kept our minimum wage the lowest in the nation, worked to sabotage our public schools and tried to silence Pennsylvania voters to rig elections for his own party. Mike Turzai has been the enemy of progress in Pennsylvania. Good riddance.“

Turzai's district backed Republican Donald Trump in 2016's presidential election by 9 percentage points. But top-of-the-ticket Democrats — Gov. Tom Wolf and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey — each won the district in 2018, Wolf by nearly 10 percentage points and Casey by 6 percentage points, according to figures provided by Democrats.

The deadline for Turzai's decision was approaching. Tuesday is the first day that candidates for public office in Pennsylvania can circulate petitions to get on the primary ballot, which traditionally is the cutoff for state lawmakers to decide whether to run again. His current term expires Nov. 30.

Turzai was embraced heartily by conservative groups and business associations, but was disliked by Democrats, labor unions and liberal groups.

As speaker for all five years during Wolf's time in office, Turzai has been the Legislature's strongest adversary to the Democrats, driving austerity in budget-making even when it put him at odds with Senate Republican leaders and moderates in his caucus.

He was a critical ally for Pennsylvania's booming natural gas industry while championing abortion restrictions, taxpayer support for private and religious schools and privatization of the state-controlled wine and liquor system.

State Rep. R. Lee James, R-64th, said he's had a good relationship with Turzai. He said Turzai will be missed in Harrisburg.

“He has always been a force to be reckoned with in the House, he espouses conservative values in every instance, he's always been approachable and a really good thinker,” James said.

He added that Turzai's energy level at all times was formidable and “beyond most normal humans.”

“It was a pleasure to work with him and I for one will miss him, but I surely wish him well,” James said.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said Turzai served his district and the state with distinction and integrity.

“Mike's dogged support for Pennsylvania's burgeoning energy sector has helped grow our state economy and created good paying jobs for thousands of people,” Toomey said.

He said Turzai's work on the Educational Improvement Tax Credit has led to millions in scholarships for lower-income children who want to attend the school of their choice.

“I thank Mike for his service to Pennsylvania and wish him and his family nothing but the best,” Toomey said.

Eagle staff writer Paula Grubbs contributed to this report.