Peter Kinder

Peter Dickson Kinder (born May 12, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 46th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2017. serving in that post until he resigned in June 2018.

Kinder was first elected lieutenant governor in 2004, succeeding Joe Maxwell, and was re-elected in 2008 at the same time Democrat Jay Nixon was elected governor. Despite the generally poor election year for Republicans, Kinder carried 109 of Missouri's 114 counties. In July 2015, Kinder announced his entry into the 2016 gubernatorial election; he was later defeated in the Republican primary by Eric Greitens.

Education and early career Kinder was born and raised in Cape Girardeau, the son of pediatrician James A. Kinder Jr. and Mary Frances Hunter Kinder. He attended Cape Girardeau Public Schools and then attended Southeast Missouri State University and the University of Missouri in Columbia. After graduating from law school at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, Kinder managed Bill Emerson's successful 1980 campaign for U.S. Congress. It was the first time a Republican won in southeast Missouri for U.S. Congress since 1928.

After law school Kinder served as a member of the late U.S. Representative Bill Emerson's staff in Washington, D.C. from 1980 to 1983. His mother, who died on January 4, 2008, sang duets with the mother of Rush Limbaugh for 50 years; Rush Limbaugh attended the funeral.

Political career In 1992, Kinder made his first bid for public office, winning election to a seat in the Missouri State Senate representing Cape Girardeau and surrounding counties by defeating former Missouri First Lady and gubernatorial candidate Betty C. Hearnes (D). Kinder was reelected to the State Senate in 1996 and 2000. Kinder was the first Republican president pro tempore in the Missouri Senate in 53 years. first took place in 2007, with Kinder as its chairman. The Tour of Missouri was one of the top stage races outside of Europe and brought in athletes from over 20 countries. During its three-year run, the race attracted an estimated 1.2 million spectators and created a direct economic impact of $80 million. Funding for the tour was described as a power struggle between Kinder and Governor Nixon.

Healthcare policy Kinder was reelected in November 2008.

Alleged relationship with exotic dancer In August 2011, The Riverfront Times published an article where Tammy Chapman, a former exotic dancer, and 1992 Penthouse Pet, claimed she met Kinder at a political event at a gentleman's club around 1994. The two did not speak again until a chance encounter 18 years later during the summer of 2011. Chapman approached Kinder and asked to take a photo with him. Chapman confirmed that the two had not spoken since the mid 90s until she saw him in 2011 and approached him to take a picture. Kinder responded that he had been audited twice, both times by Democratic state auditors, and no concerns were raised about any of the hotel stays. Kinder stated that he always paid the government rate, typically $105/night, during his stays at the Chase Park Plaza, the Four Seasons, the Ritz-Carlton and elsewhere. Due to concerns over campaign finance laws, Kinder ultimately chose not to use campaign funds and instead repaid the money personally. Kinder elected to repay $52,320, the entire amount that he had been reimbursed by the state for in-state travel since 2005. Kinder also repeatedly accused Missouri Governor Jay Nixon of reckless disregard and lack of leadership during the Ferguson riots.

2016 campaign

Kinder announced in the Ferguson/Dellwood area in July 2015 that he would seek election to the Missouri governor's office in 2016. Following his announcement, an August 2015 Public Policy Polling poll showed that Peter Kinder led Democratic candidate Chris Koster 40% to 37%. Results of a transportation union funded poll from April 2016 showed Kinder as the only Republican candidate close to Koster, yet trailing; its margin of error at 3.8% with 95% confidence. In late June 2016, Kinder was trailing the three other Republican primary candidates in fundraising, having raised $1.5 million. The other Republican candidates, Greitens, Brunner, and Hanaway, had collected $6.2, $5.7, and $3.4 million, respectively.

A negative attack ad campaign by LG PAC during summer 2016 implied that it supported Kinder despite Kinder's pledge to campaign cleanly. The PAC was secretly associated with Greitens. Kinder later called it the dirtiest political trick he'd witnessed in his career.

Kinder lost the Missouri Republican primary on August 2, 2016. He finished third with 20.7% of the popular vote, losing to Eric Greitens. Kinder carried six counties in Southeast Missouri, including Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Mississippi, Perry, Scott, and Stoddard, with businessman John Brunner winning eleven counties mostly in Southwest Missouri and Navy SEAL Eric Greitens winning the rest of the state. When his term as lieutenant governor expired in January 2017, Kinder went out of public office for the first time since his election to the state Senate in 1992.

Later service In a February 2017 interview with Cape Girardeau's KFVS-TV, Kinder said he was "considering a couple private sector opportunities" in Missouri, had been offered a consulting position, and had discussed a few potential positions to help the Trump administration.

In August 2017, President Trump appointed Kinder as a co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority, a federal economic development board serving over 250 counties and parishes in eight states near the Mississippi River. By October 2017, Kinder had directed more than $500,000 in cuts to DRA administrative expenses, which had previously taken 8.6 percent of the agency's $30 million budget. Kinder acted as head of the DRA until Chris Caldwell of Arkansas was confirmed and sworn in to its higher co-chairman role in January 2018. Kinder resigned from the DRA on June 1, 2018, saying he plans to work in the private sector and remain in Cape Girardeau. He was succeeded by Leslie Durham.

Electoral history

For Governor

As Lt. Governor

As Missouri State Senator