Less than 48 hours after the polls closed in his victorious Minneapolis mayoral race, R.T. Rybak announced to his supporters today that he has filed paperwork with the state to create an R.T. Rybak for Governor Committee.

This is not exactly a surprise, given the fact that throughout the mayoral campaign, Rybak was also showing up at forums involving other DFL gubernatorial candidates.

In an e-mail sent to supporters late this afternoon, Rybak said: “I’ve been open with people as I’ve considered this important step, so I doubt this will be a surprise. But it is an important step, and I want you to know why I’m taking it.’’

In his e-mail, Rybak said he can do for Minnesota what he’s done for Minneapolis.

“We’ve shown in Minneapolis that we can make progress, create jobs and get action to create real change. We’ve strengthened our economy, improved public safety and streamlined city government. Most importantly we’ve restored a sense of hope and shown that even in the toughest times we can do great things when we come together.’’

Filing the committee papers is only step one in the process, which will lead to formal announcement of candidacy at some point in the future.

Rybak, who just won a third term as mayor Tuesday night, faces some big obstacles. First, of course, is an already crowded field of DFLers. Second is the reality that no Minneapolis mayor has made the jump to the governor’s office, though, of course Hubert Humphrey used the position to as a springboard to the U.S. Senate.