The Republican-controlled Legislature last year passed a right-to-work bill, but it was unable to muster the votes to override Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto.

Nixon is leaving office in January because of term limits. So Democrats have to give up the incumbency advantage going into an election that will determine whether they keep in place the last line of defense against right-to-work measures.

“There’s no doubt at all” that Greitens would sign a Republican-passed right-to-work bill into law, Hummel said. “I take him at his word … (And) certainly some of his funders have put all their eggs in that basket.”

In fact, national entities on both sides of the right-to-work debate have jumped heavily into Missouri’s gubernatorial contest, with an eye on making — or preventing — the state from joining the 26 other states that have put right-to-work laws on their books.