MO: Jay Nixon for Governor 2008

I reported on August 21, 2005, that Jay Nixon was interested in the 2008 race for Governor. This is by no means an endorsement quite yet.

Today's news is not exactly breaking but he is running for Governor as documents filed today made the race official.

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon has filed paperwork indicating that he will run for governor in 2008.

Nixon’s campaign this morning filed an amendment with the Missouri Ethics Commission that shows his fundraising committee, Friends of Nixon, is raising money for a gubernatorial race.

Charles Hatfield, treasurer of the committee, said Nixon intends to run for governor. "I think he thinks that there are a lot of problems in the state right now and that we don’t have the leadership that we need," Hatfield said.

The declaration isn’t a complete surprise. Nixon said in August that he was interested in looking at the race, and he has at times been a vocal critic of the administration of Gov. Matt Blunt, who is expected to seek re-election in 2008.[...]

Nixon was elected to his fourth term as attorney general last November after twice winning election to the state Senate.

He also has made two unsuccessful bids for the U.S. Senate, losing to Jack Danforth in 1988 and Kit Bond in 1998.

Although the 2008 election is still three years away, Blunt already has been raising money at a rapid clip. According to his most recent fundraising report, he has more than $900,000 in the bank.

Nixon’s most recent fundraising report shows he has more than $180,000 in the bank.

Nixon is the first Democrat to announce a challenge, but former Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell last week told The Kansas City Star, "I’ve not come to the conclusion that Jay ought to be the only Democratic candidate."

I orginally reported about former Lt. Governor Joe Maxwell on December 29, 2004.