Sen. Josh Hawley kicked off the first debate in Missouri’s U.S. Senate race on Friday afternoon the way he’s spent most of his reelection bid – by attacking Democratic candidate Lucas Kunce.
“Our country is in crisis,” Hawley said. “And it’s in crisis because of the policies of Lucas Kunce and his allies in Washington.”
Kunce has never been elected to office, but Hawley’s attack line – which he deploys repeatedly in campaign stops throughout the state – is an attempt to tie Kunce to the national Democratic Party.
Hawley repeatedly needled Kunce, ending most of his answers by asking Kunce whether he would support Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump in November’s election.
Kunce never answered the question.
“I will work with anyone in the U.S. Senate to bring money back to Missouri,” Kunce said.
Instead, Hawley and Kunce at the debate in Springfield, hosted by the Missouri Press Association, went back and forth on issues spanning from abortion rights, immigration, energy policy, healthcare, military aid for Ukraine and tax policy, each accusing the other of lying about their record as Green Party candidate Nathan Kline and independent Jared Young attempted to make themselves heard above the fray.
Kunce accused Hawley of supporting a national abortion ban – Hawley signed on to a bill that would ban the procedure after fifteen weeks. Hawley, who supports Missouri’s ban and has said he believes the issue should be left up to the states, said he didn’t support a national ban and accused Kunce of supporting abortion without conditions.
Hawley also repeated a misleading claim that Missouri’s constitutional amendment to overturn the state’s abortion ban would allow for gender-affirming surgery for minors – which is currently banned in the state, as he emphasized Kunce’s support for transgender rights.
“He sees mandated sex change operations around every corner because he thinks it can rile people up and win him elections,” Kunce said.
Kunce tried to shift the focus to access to fertility treatments – an issue that Democrats have highlighted after an Alabama Court outlawed the procedure in the state. Hawley has voted against a bill that aims to codify protections for in-vitro fertilization twice, saying it would go beyond protecting IVF.
“He flips and flops on everything during (an) election year when he thinks it will help him out,” Kunce said.
The two also argued over immigration. Kunce criticized Hawley for opposing a bipartisan border deal that aimed to beef up border security, which Hawley said was not tough enough on illegal immigration.
Hawley criticized Kunce for opposing a border wall — citing a position Kunce took on a survey for Project VoteSmart in 2022. Kunce said he wouldn’t oppose a wall, but said he didn’t think it was the best use of border security funds.
The exchange was part of a larger theme of the debate, where Kunce accused Hawley of saying he supports policies, but still voting against them and Hawley accused Kunce of inauthentically attempting to distance himself from the policies of the Democratic Party.
When the topic came to tariffs — which both Kunce and Hawley support, though Kunce said he believed they should be invested in renewable energy production — Hawley accused Kunce of cozying up to Trump.
“I noticed that Lucas Kunce just mentioned Donald Trump yet again,” Hawley said. “He’s got an ad on TV where he’s got Trump’s name up there and he’s proud to have worked for Trump — big bear hug to Trump, big kiss to Trump — but I haven’t heard if he’s voting for Trump. I haven’t heard who he’s voting for at all”
The two also diverged on energy policy. Where Hawley has said he supports loosening up regulations that increase production of oil and gas in the United States — even though production has been at record highs.
Kunce said he was “fine” with increasing energy production but didn’t want to export gas and oil. The U.S. currently exports more gas and oil than it imports.
“I think there should be an export ban on all of our fossil fuels so that it stays right here,” Kunce said. “It keeps the prices down while we make this transition to the future because if we don’t make that transition, we are going to lose.”
By the end of the debate, as each candidate shared their closing statement, Young and Kline tried to distance themselves from the
“Voters in Missouri are desperate for another option,” Young said. “And as you watch these two bicker up here, you can see why.”
Star reporter Jonathan Shorman contributed reporting.
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Publish date : 2024-09-20 14:47:00
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