– Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and Gov. Jay Nixon will join President Barack Obama when he stops in Missouri on Friday to tout the state’s recovering auto industry.

Scott Holste, a spokesman for Nixon, said the governor would join Obama for his visit to the Claycomo Ford plant on Friday afternoon. On Wednesday, McCaskill – currently in Washington – said she would join Obama on his trip to Missouri.

“There were nay-sayers at the time that said the government shouldn’t have stepped in to rescue (the auto industry). But we did, and we recovered the money, and it is now thriving and a leader globally,” McCaskill said. “Claycomo is a great location to tell that story and remind people we have a lot to feel good about.”

McCaskill lauded Nixon and state lawmakers for playing a “major role” in incentivizing the auto industry to reinvest in Missouri following the near-collapse of the industry nationally.

Nixon has made the comeback of the state’s auto industry a highlight of his economic agenda. In 2010, Nixon called lawmakers into a successful special session in which they passed the Manufacturing Jobs Act, legislation that aimed to incentivize auto manufacturing companies and suppliers to create or retain jobs in Missouri.

“From creating an Automotive Jobs Task Force on my first full day in office to calling the legislature into a special session to pass the Missouri Manufacturing Jobs Act, my administration has made revitalizing Missouri’s auto industry a top priority,” Nixon told the Center for Automotive Research Management last month in Michigan.

Friday’s visit will mark Obama’s second visit to Missouri in three months. In July, Obama visited the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg for a speech on the economy.