State Sen. Peter Kinder may run for attorney general.

The 44-year-old Cape Girardeau Republican said Thursday that he is laying the groundwork for a possible challenge to Attorney General Jay Nixon in 2000.

Kinder said he has contacted possible backers in an effort to gauge if he can raise the money needed to challenge the two-term Democrat.

He estimated he would have to spend $1 million to $2 million in the race. It costs more than $300,000 just to run political ads on television statewide for a week, Kinder said.

"A statewide campaign is a massive undertaking," said Kinder, who considered running for state auditor a year ago.

He decided against seeking the auditor post and instead threw his support behind Republican candidate Chuck Pierce, then-deputy state auditor.

Today, Kinder has his sights set on the office of attorney general. "It is hard to imagine a more key office below governor for the state and for our people than this one," he said.

Two well-known Republicans, U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft and former U.S. Sen. John Danforth, held the post before moving on to higher office.

Democrats currently hold all five statewide offices.

Kinder expects to decide by summer whether to enter the race. If he does, he will pass up the chance of staying in the Missouri Senate.

Kinder is serving his second term in the state Senate, representing the 27th District. The district covers Cape Girardeau, Perry, Scott, Bollinger, Madison and Mississippi counties.

Kinder was elected to the state Senate in 1992 and re-elected in 1996. He could seek a third term in 2000.

Kinder said he would face a tough contest if he runs for attorney general.

"It would be very much an uphill run for someone who has never been a statewide candidate before," Kinder said from his Jefferson City office. "However, I think there is a spreading perception in the state that we could do better in the attorney general's office," he said.

Kinder said Nixon failed to adequately defend the state in litigation over funding for Planned Parenthood.

Kinder also criticized Nixon's handling of the tobacco lawsuit. Nixon hired outside lawyers to handle the case against the tobacco industry. Under the tobacco settlement, a handful of law firms would receive millions of dollars in attorney fees, Kinder said.

The state senator also said Missouri needs an attorney general who supports the Hancock Amendment's spending lid.

Kinder said he strongly supports the Hancock Amendment because it serves as "the one brake" on the growth of state government.

Nixon, who has announced he will seek a third term as attorney general, enters the race with name recognition and heavy financial backing. Kinder said Nixon can count on money from trial lawyers.

In contrast, Kinder said he currently has little name recognition statewide.

Nixon has run in four statewide races in the last 10 years, winning two terms as attorney general and losing two U.S. Senate races.

Nixon lost to Danforth in the 1988 U.S. Senate race. He also lost a hard-fought campaign last year to unseat U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond.