DES MOINES - State Rep. Rod Roberts said he's sending Iowa Republicans a message that he's seriously considering a run for governor in 2010.

Roberts, R-Carroll, said he will form an exploratory committee next month, joining the ranks of fellow Republicans state Rep. Christopher Rants and businessman Bob Vander Plaats, both of Sioux City.

To date, no Iowa Republican has formally declared a run for governor, and Roberts said any announcement about a formal candidacy would come in the fall.

The fact that he'll form an exploratory committee in a matter of weeks will let the state's Republicans know he's serious about a gubernatorial bid, he said.

"The interest is heightened when people know you are at that level," he said.

Roberts said he began thinking of a gubernatorial bid when he held a September 2008 fundraiser in Carroll at which former Govs. Robert Ray and Terry Branstad, who served a combined 30 years, were on hand. They said he should be considered in the field of potential candidates, and as the 2009 legislative year moved on, the idea percolated for Roberts.

Vander Plaats "kind of has a front-runner status" from indicating his desire to run well before anyone else, and Rants gets a lot of ink, Roberts said, noting that the 2010 race is a "tortoise and hare" event of considerable length.

Roberts has served Iowa House District 51 since 2001, following two terms on the Carroll School Board. He's never lost an election.

"People believe that I can represent them well," said Roberts, a development official for Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. He hasn't served in a pastoral role since 1989.

Roberts pointed to his knowledge in working on education issues and skill in serving in the House Republican leadership ranks.

Roberts said he has appeal beyond the Republican base and could pull in votes among Democrats and independents. He said the traditional Republican message of limited government and personal responsibility is still well-received but that a messenger capable of being a new face for the party is needed.

"Republicans have to accept that there is an image problem for the party and sometimes we are kind of cast as being hard-hearted, and I don't know if mean-spirited is right, but sometimes it seems we have this label put on us and maybe it is not fair, but there is a perception that exists," he said.

The party needs a candidate who has a conservative perspective on issues but is approachable, likeable, humble and open to reaching out and working with people, Roberts said.