ST. PAUL, Minn. — Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor largely unknown outside his home state, on Monday became the first major Republican presidential candidate in a slow-to-gel GOP field, launching an exploratory committee for the 2012 race.

In a Hollywood-style web video designed to appeal to tea partyers and establishment Republicans alike, Pawlenty urged GOP backers to join him to “take back our government. This is our country.”

“Today, I’m announcing the formation of an exploratory committee to run for president of the United States,” Pawlenty said.

The move almost certainly will lead to a full-blown candidacy for the Republican nomination.

Pawlenty is taking the most concrete steps toward a White House run, raising money and announcing he will file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. Earlier in the day, he told allies he would base a presidential campaign in Minnesota.