From Columbia Daily Tribune:

Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder’s attendance at a Republican Governors Association conference is the surest sign yet that he plans to challenge of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon in 2012.

Kinder was one of several potential gubernatorial candidates to join incumbents and newly elected governors at an RGA meeting this month in San Diego. Kinder confirmed to The Associated Press that he will not seek another term as lieutenant governor. But he declined to give a timeline for making an announcement about the gubernatorial race.

“So far the signals we’re getting are positive, but we’re not done with all the evaluation process and fact-gathering,” Kinder said.

Nixon, who was elected in 2008, has begun ramping up his fundraising for a re-election campaign. He has a fundraiser planned Tuesday in St. Louis and more in early December in Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia. Nixon had more than $1 million in his campaign account at the start of October, compared with about $373,000 for Kinder.

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