Rep. J. Gresham Barrett made it official Wednesday: He will be a candidate for South Carolina governor in 2010. The four-term Republican announced his candidacy electronically. He sent an e-mail to supporters linking to a video on his new campaign site, Gresham Barrett for Governor.

Barrett is the first of what is likely to be a crowded field of Republicans vying for the nomination.

Current Gov. Mark Sanford , a Republican, is barred from running for a third term and the open seat has attracted attention from a number of state-level officials on both sides of the aisle.

Barrett is the 10th member of the House to announce a candidacy for some other office next year. Three of the others are Democrats and the rest are Republicans. In addition, one House member, Republican Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, has announced he’ll retire at the end of 2010.

In addition, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison , R-Texas, has been exploring a potential run for governor in her state. In the video, Barrett said he is running because his experience gives him “a unique perspective on the challenges we now face, and how to fix them.”

He touted his conservative credentials, saying his crowning career achievement was helping pass the state’s partial birth abortion ban.

“There has been a lot of talk about change in America but what we can't change are our conservative principles. We have to maintain our values,” Barrett said.

Barrett served three terms in the South Carolina state House before running for Congress in 2002.

He graduated from The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., and served four years as an Army field artillery officer.

Barrett, who serves on the Financial Services and Foreign Affairs committees in the House, voted with the Republican party 99 percent of the time in 2007.

Barrett is no shoo-in for the post. He lacks the statewide name recognition of other likely Republican candidates Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer and Attorney General Henry McMaster. Brent Nelson, chairman of the political science department at Furman University in Greenville, is running. Also interested in possible Republican bid is Carroll “Tumpy” Campbell III, a lobbyist, former Ports Authority board member and namesake son of a late popular South Carolina governor.

Despite the state’s conservative leanings, a handful of Democrats could mount a serious run. Democrats rumored as possible candidates include state Superintendent of Education Jim Rex; Joe Erwin, an advertising executive who formerly led the state Democratic Party; Inez Tenenbaum, a former state Superintendent of Education who lost to Republican Jim DeMint in the 2004 U.S. Senate race; and three state senators, Robert Ford, Vincent Sheehan and Joel Lourie.

Barrett has been mulling the race for some time and has stockpiled cash in his congressional campaign committee, which could be used to lay the groundwork for a gubernatorial campaign. At the end of 2008, Barrett reported having $725,000 cash on hand.