Winder, in an interview at the SEMO Labor Picnic, said raising money is easier this year. Running for an open seat — Jetton is term limited and must leave the House — helped open up the checkbooks, he said. So far, Winder has raised $28,000 for the contest. He had $2,300 on hand just before the primary election.

Shelley Keeney, the district aide to Jetton who is the Republican nominee, has raised $34,000 and had $27,800 on hand just before the primary.

"Last time going against the Speaker of the House, nobody gave me much of a chance," Winder said. "I opened their eyes up. Now, a whole lot of people expect me to win."

Winder, of Marquand, Mo., reports to work most days at the Holcim cement plant construction site in Ste. Genevieve. That limits his campaigning time, he said, but he's not complaining.

Winder's running as a pro-life, pro-gun Democrat and hopes when voters understand there is no difference between he and Keeney on those issues, they will look at his economic and other platform planks. "A lot of people say Democrats are for taking away guns and abortion," he said. "The majority of us are not."

"A lot of Republicans are more liberal than I am," he said.