Gov. Jay Nixon stopped by Wentzville Tuesday morning for a brief visit with GM workers at Pete's Drive-In.

Nixon shook hands around the room and spoke to workers about his work to bring jobs to Missouri with a "targeted package" for the expansion of the auto industry.

"The legislature didn't get it done the first time, so I brought them back for a special session, but I did not pay them time-and-a-half for the extra session," Nixon joked.

Nixon said that with the $1.1 billion Ford expansion in Kansas City and the $380 million GM expansion in Wentzville, there was never a question in his mind that the workers of the Show-Me State could deliver a competitive product.

Nixon later answered questions from reporters about Dave Spence, his opponent in the governor's race, who has been criticized for his connection to a bank that accepted federal TARP funds and for using a loan from those funds for a vacation home.

"He had a choice," Nixon said. "He could have paid the taxpayers back or use that money for insider loans. He made that choice."

Spence has filed a lawsuit against Nixon for defamation of character in Nixon's ad campaign that referred to Spence as a banker and criticized him for taking advantage of his position at Reliance Bancshares.