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RALEIGH (AP) — The No. 2 leader in the state House announced today he instead wants the No. 2 job in the executive branch.

Rep. Dale Folwell joined an already crowded field in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor. He announced his plans at a news conference in his hometown of Winston-Salem, where he was joined by several people affected by legislation he shepherded through the legislature in his seven years in the House. He was elected speaker pro tempore in 2011 as Republicans gained a majority in the chamber.

If elected, Folwell said, he would focus on what he calls five solutions each year for four years to the problems North Carolina faces. He planned to highlight all 20 solutions leading up to the scheduled May 8 primary.

"I understand policy, people and the needs of North Carolina, and I agree with North Carolinians who feel that we are on the wrong track," Folwell, 53, said in a statement. "Everywhere I go, people tell me that they have had enough and that they want it fixed."

Folwell, a consultant and private investor, will compete with two other GOP candidates who have been running for months: Raleigh architect Dan Forest and Wake County Commissioner Tony Gurley. Democratic Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton is seeking re-election.

The lieutenant governor's job remains a relatively low-profile position, with the official responsibilities not going much beyond presiding over the state Senate, serving on two state education boards and, of course, taking over if the governor dies or resigns. But previous lieutenant governors — Jim Hunt and Beverly Perdue — have been elected governor after serving in the No. 2 position.

The lieutenant governor's position could take on more significance should the governor and lieutenant governor come from different parties. Only one Republican — Jim Gardner from 1989 to 1993 — has been elected lieutenant governor in more than 100 years.

Folwell announced last month he wouldn't seek a fifth House term. He had a knack for getting legislation passed even when the legislature was in Democratic hands.

When the General Assembly shifted to the Republicans in 2011 he pushed through bipartisan workers' compensation rule changes and giving prosecutors the authority to charge an alleged attacker with the murder of an unborn child in addition to the pregnant woman carrying the fetus.