A former top Republican National Committee official is the latest to throw his hat in the ring for his party's top job. Chuck Yob, a Grand Rapids businessman who served as Michigan's national committeeman for nearly two decades, has begun making phone calls to gauge support for the position, multiple GOP sources tell Politics Nation.

A call to Yob's home was not immediately returned.

Yob was first elected to the RNC in 1989 and served as state chair or co-chair for most recent Republican presidential nominees in Michigan, including President Bush and John McCain. On the RNC, Yob served as vice chairman for the Midwest. He decided not to run for national committeeman again last year as he faced a spirited challenge from 2006 Senate candidate Keith Butler, who now represents the state to the national body.

A close ally of McCain's -- son John Yob served as one of the Arizona senator's deputy political directors -- Yob was widely rumored as one of the front-runners for the RNC job if McCain had won the White House. Now, though, Yob will run against what could be a crowded field that may include as many as five state party chairmen and a host of outside candidates, rumored to include GOPAC chairman Michael Steele, former Mike Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman and others.

Along with the crowded field, Yob faces the prospect of having to start his campaign without the full support of his home-state delegation, either. Michigan GOP chairman Saul Anuzis is considered a top contender for the RNC post, though Anuzis has tamped down speculation that he will seek the post. Still, RNC watchers are not counting Anuzis out as a candidate.