JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – As she seeks to maintain her financial lead on other Republicans readying to enter the fray, Missouri gubernatorial candidate Catherine Hanaway is enlisting the support of one of the nation’s Republican governors.

Next month, Hanaway – a former Missouri House Speaker and federal prosecutor — will be joined at Hunter Farms in St. Louis by Nikki Haley, South Carolina’s Republican governor, for a fundraiser, according to an invitation obtained Wednesday by PoliticMo.

The event will be hosted by businessman Stephen F. Brauer, William H. T. Bush, David N. Farr and August A. Busch III, a businessman who has donated to all of the candidates running for governor.

Haley’s support comes as Sen. Mike Parson, a Republican of Bolivar, works to catch up in the cash race and as Eric Greitens, a Navy SEAL turned best-selling author of St. Louis, ready to launch his campaign early next month.