Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker on Friday said he’s ready to sign so-called right-to-work legislation that Republican lawmakers aim to fast-track next week.

Walker’s announcement marks a shift from previous statements on such legislation; the Associated Press says that it’s a move “the likely 2016 presidential candidate initially said should be delayed to avoid re-igniting massive pro-union protests.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: “Lawmakers are calling themselves into extraordinary session for the bill because Democrats would have fewer chances to use the delaying tactics available to them in regular session, [Senate Majority Leader Scott] Fitzgerald said.”

Explaining the governor’s change in stance, The Nation‘s John Nichols writes: “Walker’s in a new race now—a race to win the support of Republican caucus-goers and primary voters who like their candidates to take a hard line on social and economic issues.”

“And so his line just got a whole lot harder,” Nichols wrote.