Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder with Tammy Chapman

Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder with Tammy Chapman

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder is hoping his second shot at a gubernatorial bid goes a bit better than his first. In a campaign kick-off on Sunday in the town of Dellwood, Kinder joined the already-wild GOP primary to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon next year. It was an unusual place for a Republican rally: Dellwood is adjacent to Ferguson, and like its neighbor, it was scarred by riots after a grand jury declined to indict the police officer who killed Michael Brown.

But Kinder, of course, was unconcerned about abuses of police power. Rather, he focused on the vandalism that followed Brown's death, accusing Nixon of failing to deploy the National Guard "while Ferguson burned." Kinder's been saying this kind of thing all along: Earlier this year, he attacked Barack Obama and Eric Holder for participating in "incitement of the mob" and "encouraging disorder in Ferguson," and even went in for some old-school red baiting by claiming the Department of Justice was "staffed with Marxists and black radicals." So in that sense, Dellwood was the perfect spot for a Republican who wants to run on a bellicose law-and-order platform.

Kinder himself, though, hasn't always walked the straight-and-narrow. His putative 2012 bid ended in a fiery wreck after a former stripper accused him of harboring an obsession with her a decade-and-a-half earlier, to the point that he became "very aggressive" with her during her performances and even "hurt" her physically. (It didn't help that the story surfaced because he took a selfie with her, years after she'd broken off contact with him, at a bar known for its "pantsless parties.") Around the same time, Kinder was also forced to repay the state for $35,000 in hotel bills he'd charged to taxpayers for trips to decidedly non-official activities like tea party events and even the World Series.

Ultimately, Kinder gave up on his gubernatorial hopes but managed to narrowly win another term as lieutenant governor after barely surviving a difficult primary. This time, he'll face a challenging primary of a different sort. A wide array of candidates is poised to beat each other up, including former U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway (bankrolled by conservative zillionare Rex Sinquefield), state Sen. Mike Parson (inspired to run out of fury over Auditor Tom Schweich's suicide, which he attributed to negative attacks from Hanaway's allies), former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens (a one-time Democrat with a resume straight out of central casting), and businessman John Brunner (your classic Republican richie rich with money to burn).

This race is already nasty, and with the aggro Kinder's entry, it'll only become more so. Meanwhile, state Attorney General Chris Koster, the only Democrat in the race, can sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

