Kinder not planning '04 run for governor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- While not ruling out a bid for some statewide office in 2004, Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder on Thursday said he will not seek the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Bob Holden.

"I am not running for governor," Kinder said simply.

Though Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, didn't elaborate, other options to continue his political career could include running for lieutenant governor or attorney general.

In either case, should he win in a primary, he would face a Democratic incumbent -- Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell, a former senator who won his current seat in 2000, or Attorney General Jay Nixon, who was first elected to the post in 1992 and has indicated he will seek a fourth term.

Term limits prevent Kinder from seeking re-election to the Senate seat he first won in 1992.

Missouri Democratic Party executive director Mike Kelley said the Republican standard bearer, whomever that turns out to be, will have a tough time unseating Holden.

'Doesn't really surprise me'

"It doesn't really surprise me at all that Peter found he might not have the right message to run for governor," Kelley said.

Two other high-profile Republicans remain uncommitted, at least officially, to making gubernatorial runs in 2004.

When told Kinder would not seek the post, Secretary of State Matt Blunt praised him as "an effective leader for the state of Missouri." But Blunt offered no insights as to his own ambitions.

"I have no formal announcement to make regarding the 2004 election cycle," Blunt said.

However, Republican Party insiders say Blunt has decided to run for governor and has been working to build support among party leaders.

U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof of Columbia, Mo., is the other oft-mentioned contender for the GOP nomination. Hulshof, who has represented northeast Missouri in Congress since 1997, is a Sikeston, Mo., native and at different times previously served as a public defender and assistant prosecuting attorney in Cape Girardeau County.

Spokesman Eric Feltner said Hulshof is currently occupied with family issues following the recent death of his father and the birth of his second child.

"He is going to talk about it with his family over the holidays," Feltner said. "He plans to let everyone know what he is going to do after the first of the year."

mpowers@semissourian.com

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