Missouri is one of those states with the unusual circumstance of a Democratic governor and a Republican lieutenant governor. Now the second-in-command appears ready to take aim at the top spot:

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder isn’t ready yet to officially declare that he’s running for governor.
But the Cape Girardeau Republican is ready to hire staffers to work on the campaign, even if it doesn’t quite exist yet.
A job listing circulating a local university indicates Kinder is seeking “campaign interns and a limited number of paid campaign staffers” for positions begining next month.
“The program is an exciting opportunity to gain real, hands-on experience in a high-level Missouri political campaign,” the listing states.
The position would be with Friends of Peter Kinder, which the listing describes as “Lt. Governor Peter Kinder’s campaign committee set up to challenge Democratic Governor Jay Nixon for Governor in 2012.”

I wonder if his campaign pledges will include a “Kinder and Gentler Missouri.”