JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A fundraising committee has been established to support former House Speaker Catherine Hanaway’s candidacy for the Republican nomination in 2016.

On December 10, James C. Thomas III – a lawyer often listed on committees close to Axiom Strategies (backing Hanaway)  – established the Citizens for a Stronger Missouri Political Action Committee. In less than a month, the committee raised more than $8,000 from three donors – including $3,000 total from U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-St. Louis, and her husband Ray Wagner, a lobbyist for Enterprise Leasing.

The committee also raised $5,000 from Frederick Palmer, Senior Vice President of Peabody Energy, and $10,000 from former gubernatorial candidate and St. Louis businessman Dave Spence. The committee had not spent any money as recently as December 31, according to a filing with the Missouri Ethics Commission, and has not raised any other contributions more than $5,000 since the beginning of the year.

For her part, Hanaway – who announced her candidacy on Monday saying she wanted an early start to attempt to catch up with likely Democratic candidate Chris Koster’s fundraising ability – has yet to set up her own fundraising committee. A campaign aide said the fundraising committee could be established as soon as statewide Lincoln Days in Springfield later this month.