Josh Hawley, Lucas Kunce agree to Missouri Senate debate just days before election

By Jason Hancock

Missouri Independent

After weeks of tussling between the two campaigns, Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and Democrat Lucas Kunce are finally set to square off in a televised debate less than a week before voters head to the polls.

(Photo- Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, left, confronts his Democratic challenger, Lucas Kunce, over who is ducking debates during a meeting Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, at the Governor’s Ham Breakfast at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia- Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent).

The debate will air Oct 31 on Missouri Nexstar stations, including KTVI/KPLR-St. Louis, WDAF-Kansas City, KRBK-Springfield and KSN-Joplin and their digital platforms. It could be the only time the two main contenders for Missouri’s U.S. Senate seat share a stage.

The Missouri Press Association has held a Senate debate every election cycle for years at its annual convention. Kunce is set to appear at this year’s debate on Friday in Springfield along with third-party candidates Jared Young and Nathan Kline, according to Mark Maassen, the press associations executive director.

“No word yet from Josh Hawley,” Maassen said.

Hawley’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Friday’s debate.

Caleb Cavarretta, Kunce’s campaign manager, said in an emailed statement that Kunce agreed to Friday’s debate because “unlike Josh Hawley, Lucas respects the responsibility of a candidate and U.S. Senator to connect with folks they are meant to represent.”

“This year, we’ve got two weeks of no excuse in-person absentee voting in Missouri so it would be great for voters to hear from Josh Hawley before then,” Cavarretta said, “but unfortunately he wants to hide out as long as he can before election day.”

Kunce initially challenged Hawley to five televised debates. Hawley, however, demanded a debate at the Missouri State Fair in early August.

When State Fair officials said that was not possible, and that no one from Hawley’s campaign had alerted them to the possibility of a debate, Hawley pushed for a debate hosted by the Missouri Farm Bureau, which has endorsed him in the race.

Kunce said he would sign off on the idea as long as Hawley would formally agree to his suggestion of five televised debates, and the farm bureau showdown never materialized.

Instead, Kunce and Hawley crossed paths at the Governor’s Ham Breakfast at the Missouri State Fair, trading insults and demands for debates.

In 2022, Republican Eric Schmitt also refused to participate in the press association’s debate, only the second time since 1988 that a major-party candidate refused to attend one of the organization’s forums.

While Hawley is unlikely to attend, the two major candidates for Missouri governor will debate on Friday, Maassen said.

Republican Mike Kehoe, Democrat Crystal Quade and third party candidates Paul Lehmann and Bill Slantz have agreed to participate in the gubernatorial forum, Maassen said.

Both the gubernatorial and Senate debates will be moderated by David Lieb of the Associated Press, with a panel of journalists from around the state — Lucas Presson of the Southeast Missourian, Christine Tempe of the Springfield Business Journal and Alvin Reid of the St. Louis American.