David Moye
Updated ·4 min read
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) hasn’t been able to set up a debate with Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce, so he decided to take matters into his own hands on Thursday.
And he did it at the Missouri State Fair.
Kunce’s campaign has agreed to five televised debates, according to St. Louis Fox affiliate KTVI-TV. But Kunce would not participate in a non-televised debate hosted by the Missouri Farm Bureau that his campaign contends would violate campaign finance law, since the group endorsed Hawley and donated $5,000 to his campaign, according to the Missouri Independent.
In a letter to the bureau, the Kunce campaign cited Federal Election Commission law preventing organizations that endorse and financially back candidates from hosting debates, the website said.
“Lucas does not wish to expose the Farm Bureau or your members to unnecessary risk,” Kunce campaign manager Caleb Cavaretta wrote.
The two U.S. Senate nominees have been at an impasse over debate terms since emerging from their party primaries on Aug. 6.
But Hawley apparently decided the best way to get a debate going was to track down Kunce at the State Fair in Sedalia on Thursday and demand they do it then and there.
And, yes, he made sure a camera crew was following him.
Hawley’s video shows him walking around the fair like a man on a mission.
“Guys, how are you? Let’s go find Lucas Kunce. Let’s go find him,” he says to bystanders. “Come on, where’s he been? I haven’t seen him. You guys seen him? He hasn’t been out of his basem*nt in two weeks, let’s go find him. Where is he? Where is he? Where is he? Where is he?”
About 23 seconds into the video, Hawley connects with Kunce, who says, “How you doing, man?” to which Hawley replies, “We gonna debate today?”
After Kunce says he doesn’t know what Hawley is talking about, the senator responds, “You don’t know? I read your bullsh*t letter to the Farm Bureau. Are you going to sue the Farm Bureau?”
The exchange continued ...
Kunce: Dude, you’re really obsessed with this stuff.
Hawley: Come on!
Kunce: You’re really obsessed with this stuff.
Hawley: Come on! Are you going to debate me today?
Kunce: You already got the Farm Bureau and the state fair in trouble, man.
Hawley: Let’s go!
At one point, Hawley taunted Kunce, saying, “By the way, are you gonna do any campaign events around the state or just media?”
Kunce responded using that “W word” that has been on many Democrats’ lips in recent weeks.
“Josh, why are you so weird?” Kunce responded. “Man, why are you so creepy?”
You can see the encounter from Hawley’s perspective below.
Kunce has been hiding out for two weeks - I finally found him today. And he STILL won’t debate. But I’ll be there pic.twitter.com/aRjKIByq5b
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) August 15, 2024
Kunce offered his own post, one that showed Hawley not committing to the debates he’s already agreed to.
Josh Hawley's one rule to debate: No one sees it.
From robbing us of $250k in taxpayer dollars, to voting against IVF, he's terrified of being exposed to Missouri voters. That's why he's refused to accept a single televised debate—even on Fox News. #MOSenpic.twitter.com/lbRkaMkcAA
— Lucas Kunce (@LucasKunceMO) August 15, 2024
Not surprisingly, the skirmish between the Senate candidates attracted attention on social media.
It’s WEIRD that you won’t do a televised debate. Why would he debate you at the fair when he’s there to meet and connect with voters? PLUS - televised debates are FACT-CHECKED. You scared of the fact checks, dude? We all know you promoted the #BigLie about the election! #Cowardpic.twitter.com/HNTE2QtIx3
— Ashley Votes Blue ☮️ (@KuckelmanAshley) August 15, 2024
Run away, Hateful Hawley pic.twitter.com/JpH8lCM9Ul
— Tara Dublin, Rock Star Author & Kamala Voter 🪷 (@taradublinrocks) August 15, 2024
Josh, we’re in the same party and you’re a great Senator and warrior but this is low for you.
— Valentina Gomez (@ValentinaForUSA) August 15, 2024
You really seem to be trying to overcompensate for something, Josh. The whole macho senator act is so weird.
— Luke Zaleski (@ZaleskiLuke) August 15, 2024
I'll fight you, but only if no one sees you kick my ass.
— Machine Pun Kelly 🇺🇦 (@KellyScaletta) August 15, 2024
When you rely on aggression to make your point, it often signals that you don't trust your ideas to speak for themselves.https://t.co/ayy2yZ0NP3
— P a u l ◉ (@ybarrap) August 15, 2024
This is VERY low, Josh. VERY low.
Don't do this sh*t. It makes you look like an obsessed stalker. pic.twitter.com/vYsLIxApUb— Cory Legendre (@corylegendre) August 15, 2024
