Republican state Sen. Mike Jungbauer formally launched his campaign for Minnesota governor at a local fair Aug. 8, telling the audience he had been “called by God” to run for the post.

Jungbauer, of East Bethel, a small town about an hour from Minneapolis, is an evangelical Christian and former mayor serving his second term in the state legislature. He told the newsletter Politics in Minnesota last week that he was driven to consider the race because, “I’m a Christian person, and believe that the Lord kind of leads you through open doors. And there’s a door open.”

Jungbauer is a proponent of lower taxes and is critical of the cap-and-trade legislation regulating carbon emissions currently being debated in Congress.

Jungbauer is one of several state legislators already in or mulling the open seat race. Incumbent Republican Tim Pawlenty announced in June that he would not seek a third term. State House minority leader Marty Seifert leads a GOP field that also includes state Reps. Tom Emmer and Paul Kohls; State Sen. David Hann; and former state Auditor Pat Anderson.