Kinder talks record in office in bid for Missouri governor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder said his conservative record and success in winning statewide campaigns make him the best candidate for Missouri governor.

Kinder, 62, of Cape Girardeau has spent the most time as an elected official among the four GOP candidates vying for the state's top executive post.

He's hoping his more than two decades in elected office will allow him to clinch a win in a competitive Tuesday primary. He's up against former Missouri House speaker and U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway and two outsider candidates who never have served in public office: suburban St. Louis businessman John Brunner and former Navy SEAL officer Eric Greitens.

"What people are looking for is a trusted conservative and a trusted winner," Kinder said.

Kinder started his political career as campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson and worked on his Washington, D.C., staff from 1981 to 1983. He next worked as an attorney and real-estate representative for Drury Industries, then in 1987 became associate publisher of the Southeast Missourian newspaper.

Peter Kinder

Kinder won election in 1992 to the state Senate, where he served for 12 years. He was elected president pro tem when Republicans gained control of the chamber in 2001.

Voters elected him lieutenant governor in 2004. He's the second person in state history to have been elected to the seat for three terms.

It's rare in Missouri for outsider candidates to be elected governor. Most governors in recent history had been elected to other statewide office. Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, who is barred from running for re-election because of term limits, was elected to four terms as attorney general.

Greitens in particular has made a point of criticizing so-called career politicians. He launched his campaign, which also is his first bid for elected office, saying "corrupt consultants, well-paid lobbyists and career politicians" have been in Jefferson City for decades and have produced "nothing for us but embarrassment and failure."

As lieutenant governor, Kinder has been a vocal critic of Nixon, particularly his handling of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson after the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown and for not more rapidly deploying the National Guard to prevent violence. He's also sued to challenge the constitutionality of the health-care overhaul President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010.

His history on the campaign trail, including past flirtations with a gubernatorial candidacy, also means he's faced years of scrutiny that led to political setbacks.

Kinder used personal funds in 2011 to reimburse the state more than $54,000 for lodging expenses following reports by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he spent hundreds of nights at St. Louis hotels. He also acknowledged frequenting an Illinois strip club in the 1990s while serving in the state Senate, after an article in the St. Louis alternative newspaper the Riverfront Times revealed the visits.

After media reports on the visits, donor David Humphreys, president and CEO of Joplin-based TAMKO Building Products, pulled his support of Kinder and asked that his campaign contributions to Kinder be returned.

Humphreys since has renewed financial support of Kinder. He and other members of the wealthy family have given Kinder $1.5 million this campaign.

The money was needed, as Kinder has lagged behind in fundraising. With roughly $2.7 million, he's raised the least this campaign cycle of the GOP candidates, based on the most recent campaign finance reports, which go through July 21. For comparison, the second-lowest fundraiser is Hanaway, who brought in more than twice the amount as Kinder with $5.8 million during the same time period.