St. Louis area, to avoid "the slightest taint or suspicion" associated with his name or public service. Due to concerns over campaign finance laws, Kinder ultimately chose not to use campaign funds and instead repaid the money personally. Kinder elected to repay $52,320, the entire amount that he had been reimbursed by the state for in-state travel since 2005. Shooting of Michael Brown In reference to the period after the shooting of Michael Brown by police in August 2014, Kinder said in March 2015 that President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder had engaged in "incitement of the mob" and "encouraging disorder in Ferguson." Kinder also repeatedly accused Missouri Governor Jay Nixon of reckless disregard and lack of leadership during the Ferguson riots. 2016 campaign Kinder announced in the Ferguson/Dellwood area in July 2015 that he would seek election to the Missouri governor's office in 2016. Following his announcement, an August 2015 Public Policy Polling poll showed that Peter Kinder led Democratic candidate Chris Koster 40% to 37%. Results of a transportation union funded poll from April 2016 showed Kinder as the only Republican candidate close to Koster, yet trailing; its margin of error at 3.8% with 95% confidence. In late June 2016, Kinder was trailing the three other Republican primary candidates in fundraising, having raised $1.5 million. The other Republican candidates, Greitens, Brunner, and Hanaway, had collected $6.2, $5.7, and $3.4 million, respectively. A negative attack ad campaign by LG PAC during summer 2016 implied that it supported Kinder despite Kinder's pledge to campaign cleanly. The PAC was secretly associated with Greitens. Kinder later called it the dirtiest political trick he'd witnessed in his career. Kinder lost the Missouri Republican primary on August 2, 2016. He finished third with 20.7% of the popular vote, losing to Eric Greitens. Kinder carried six counties in Southeast Missouri, including Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Mississippi, Perry, Scott, and Stoddard, with businessman John Brunner winning eleven counties mostly in Southwest Missouri and Navy SEAL Eric Greitens winning the rest of the state. When his term as lieutenant governor expired in January 2017, Kinder went out of public office for the first time since his election to the state Senate in 1992. Later service In a February 2017 interview with Cape Girardeau's KFVS-TV, Kinder said he was "considering a couple private sector opportunities" in Missouri, had been offered a consulting position, and had discussed a