State Senator Brad Lager of Savannah will seek the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor.  Lager and Saint Louis businessman Chris McKee both declared their candidacies Monday. This followed Republican House Speaker Steven Tilley’s announcement that he was dropping out of the lieutenant governor’s race to spend more time with his teenage daughters.

The incumbent, Republican Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, is not seeking re-election and is expected to challenge Democratic Governor Jay Nixon in the 2012 elections. Two Democrats already are in the lieutenant governor’s race – state party chairwoman Susan Montee and state conservation commissioner Becky Plattner.