HARRISBURG — U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz said Friday she is preparing to set up a state fundraising committee as her first official step toward a likely 2014 campaign for Pennsylvania governor.

The fifth-term Democratic congresswoman stopped short of declaring her candidacy, but said she will file papers to create a political-action committee “in the next few weeks or a month or so.”

Schwartz, 64, is the only woman in what could be a crowded fight for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, who is battling anemic job-approval ratings in independent polls.