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Former Mo. gov forgives loan to current Lt. Gov.

Matt Blunt with Peter Kinder in 2005
(Bill Greenblatt/UPI)
Matt Blunt with Peter Kinder in 2005

Former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has forgiven a loan he made to the man who wants the job he once held.

Blunt lent fellow Republican Peter Kinder, currently the state's lieutenant governor, $300,000 for Kinder's 2008 campaign. It was the only debtKinder had left to pay back (scroll to page 3 of the document) from that race, and Blunt's decision to forgive the loan came on the last day to do so.

Kinder had established a so-called debt service committee, which allows candidates to raise money to pay back loans. By state law, those have to be terminated within 18 months. Kinder formed his committee on June 30th.

Kinder has yet to officially announce his candidacy for governor, but he's been laying the groundwork to challenge Jay Nixon in 2012.

Rachel is the justice correspondent at St. Louis Public Radio.