South Carolina state Rep. Chip Limehouse said Friday that he was quickly moving toward a bid for the state’s open 1st District.

“I’m rapidly going in that direction,” the Republican told CQ Roll Call on Friday afternoon, noting an announcement would likely come soon. If he ran, Limehouse said, a main plank of his campaign would be his record on job creation in the state legislature and “jobs, jobs and more jobs for the 1st Congressional District.”

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, widely expected to enter the race, would probably be the immediate front-runner. Limehouse, along with high school teacher Teddy Turner (the son of media mogul Ted Turner) and state Sen. Larry Grooms are considered by insiders as the likely top tier of other GOP candidates for the coastal, safely Republican seat.

The seat opened after Republican Gov. Nikki R. Haley appointed then-Rep. Tim Scott to the Senate to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Jim DeMint.