NW Missouri state rep ponders run for lieutenant governor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A state representative from northwestern Missouri said Thursday that he is considering a run for lieutenant governor.

Rep. Jim Whorton, D-Trenton, has filed paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission to seek an unspecified statewide office in August 2008. Whorton said he is trying to determine how his candidacy would be received and won't make a final decision until early next year.

Several Democratic lawmakers have been rumored to be potential challengers to Republican incumbent Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.

Kinder, a former state senator from Cape Girardeau, was elected in 2004.

Whorton owns a car dealership and helps run his family's farm. He was first elected in a special election in 2001 and re-elected in 2002, 2004 and 2006.

His grandmother's cousin, Alexander Dockery, served one-term as Missouri's governor from 1901-1905.