Republican candidate Scott Honour has picked up some well-known Republican names to guide his run for governor.

According to a source familiar with Honour's campaign, Pat Shortridge, who finished his term as Minnesota Republican Party chair this month, will be Honour's lead strategist and consultant. Shortridge has worked with Republican campaigns across the country as a consultant and ran Mark Kennedy's 2006 U.S. Senate campaign.

Shanna Woodbury, who was the GOP Party's finance consultant, will be in charge of Honour's fundraising effort. She has worked with many high-profile Republican campaigns including Tim Pawlenty's and Mitt Romney's Minnesota campaign. She worked in fundraising for Kennedy's 2006 Senate campaign.

Honour, a businessman who is new to elected politics but has been a significant donor to Repiblican campaigns, is the first Republican to enter the race against DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. Other Republicans are expected to soon join the fray.