– State Auditor Tom Schwiech’s campaign has fired the first shot in the 2016 Republican gubernatorial primary.

On Wednesday, hours after the only declared candidate Catherine Hanaway reported a $750,000 contribution from St. Louis billionaire Rex Sinquefield, Schweich advisor Nathan Adams penned a fiery note to reporters in which he slammed her for “one of the worst financial quarters for a major party Governor candidate in Missouri political history.”

Adams said Schweich “has not decided” on whether to run, but added, “this much is clear: under no circumstances should Hanaway be the nominee of the Republican Party for Governor in 2016.”

“[U]nder no circumstances will we sit idly by while one person — who has already had his cronies sue the Auditor’s office more than 10 times — appears to be attempting to buy Missouri government,” he said.

Hanaway has raised $1.2 million since announcing her candidacy in April, nearly $800,000 of which has come from Sinquefield. Schweich ended his quarter this week with the same amount.