RICHMOND — U.S. Rep. Robert J. Wittman has launched a political action committee, taking the first official step in his campaign for the Republican nomination for governor, he announced Thursday.

The move to create the Virginia First Fund PAC means he can begin to raise money to run statewide in 2017, while seeking re-election to Congress.

Ed Gillespie, a longtime political strategist and former White House counselor, is also seeking the GOP nod and has a significant head start, having already raised about $750,000 in five months.

Former attorney general Ken Cuccinelli II, who lost the 2013 gubernatorial race, has said he is considering running as well.

Wittman, who had about $1 million in his congressional campaign account at the end of March, plans to speak Friday at Shad Planking, a long-standing political ritual in Virginia.

“Launching the Virginia First PAC is a necessary step forward for Congressman Wittman in anticipation of his Gubernatorial bid in 2017,” his political director, Garrison Coward, said in a statement.

“Right now, Congressman Wittman is devoting his full energy to a successful 2016 reelection campaign in the First District, and he’s continuing to advance policies that limit government overreach and vitalize Virginia’s diverse economy.”

[Dec. 2015: GOP congressman Rob Wittman prepares to jump into Va. governor’s race]

Wittman won a convention in a special election for Congress in 2007. He has said previous experience serving on the Montross Town Council, including a decade as mayor, the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors and state House of Delegates helped prepare him to run the state.

He has also served as chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee.