ST. LOUIS • Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder isn't ready yet to officially declare that he's running for governor.

But the Cape Girardeau Republican is ready to hire staffers to work on the campaign, even if it doesn't quite exist yet.

A job listing circulating a local university indicates Kinder is seeking "campaign interns and a limited number of paid campaign staffers" for positions begining next month.

"The program is an exciting opportunity to gain real, hands-on experience in a high-level Missouri political campaign," the listing states.

The position would be with Friends of Peter Kinder, which the listing describes as "Lt. Governor Peter Kinder’s campaign committee set up to challenge Democratic Governor Jay Nixon for Governor in 2012."

For now, Kinder's campaign committee indicates only he is running for statewide office, but that is clearly going to change soon.

As for when, that's unclear, but anytime later this month -- after the Legislature adjourns on May 13 -- or early June is a safe bet.

Whenever it begins, it appears that the campaign headquarters will be based in the St. Louis area.