ATLANTA --- Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle on Wednesday became the second Georgia Republican to jump into the race for governor, still more than two years away. Mr. Cagle filed paperwork setting up an exploratory committee for the 2010 contest. The committee will allow Mr. Cagle to accept donations.

Mr. Cagle's announcement had been expected for weeks. He kept it low-key out of deference to the state's budget crisis and said that's where his focus will be for the remainder of the year.

"I am strongly considering a run for governor in 2010, and today we filed paperwork to begin that process," Mr. Cagle said in a statement.

"However, there is a time for a robust and public gubernatorial debate, and that time is not now," he went on. "Our state faces a budget crisis of historical proportions."

Mr. Cagle, of Gainesville, was elected lieutenant governor in 2006 after a primary upset over famed GOP strategist Ralph Reed.

Mr. Cagle was a weightlifting instructor and the manager of a tuxedo store before making his fortune in investment properties and helping form a community bank. He served for more than a decade in the state Senate, the chamber he now presides over as the state's No. 2.

Several Republicans are said to be eyeing the race to replace Gov. Sonny Perdue when his second term expires. State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine is the only other Republican who has made it official. He issued a statement Wednesday welcoming Mr. Cagle to the race.

David Poythress, the former commander of the Georgia National Guard, is the only Democrat to enter the race so far. Mr. Poythress is a former state labor commissioner and Georgia secretary of state.