Former U.S. Sen. Kit Bond.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Years ago, Catherine Hanaway served as a chief of staff in Republican U.S. Sen. Kit Bond’s St. Louis office.

But Bond, a former governor who now works as a lobbyist in Jefferson City and Washignton, D.C., said on Tuesday he was not ready to endorse his former staff member’s 2016 campaign for governor.

“I think she’s a great candidate,” he said, adding that he thinks it is “a little too early” for him to weigh in.

Three years out, the field is not yet clear in the race. Republican State Auditor Tom Schweich and St. Louis businessman John Brunner have also indicated their interest in the post, but neither have made explicit announcements.

Bond’s positioning differs from that of U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, a long-time Hanaway friend, who endorsed Hanaway’s bid when she announced her campaign earlier this month.

Bond, who is advocating on behalf of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce for Medicaid expansion in the state, said, “let’s worry about Medicaid first, 2016 second.” When asked whether a 2016 prospect, or he himself, would back Medicaid expansion on the campaign trail, Bond laughed and said he was not advising her on her campaign.

“If I were running for a state office I’d want to know about what Obamacare cuts are doing and what we could do to get Medicaid reform and transformation, and I’d be on it,” Bond said.

Hanaway has not yet weighed in on the Medicaid fight, but her likely Democratic rival, Attorney General Chris Koster, has. Just hours after Hanaway announced her gubernatorial bid, Koster was on the campaign trail in Columbia touting his support of Medicaid expansion – saying Republicans oppose it with the same “angry stubbornness” that led him to leave the Republican Party during the 2006 stem cell debate.